County Approves Jail Suicide Settlement

A Putnam Valley family has reached a $600,000 settlement with Putnam County in a civil rights lawsuit over the suicide of a 21-year-old inmate who hanged himself inside a jail cell three and one-half years ago.

Putnam County Attorney Jennifer Bumgarner told the PCN&R / Courier Monday, Donny Sinkov agreed to settle with four of the five defendants while the fifth defendant, Americor, a Delaware company hired by the county to provide medical services at the Putnam Correctional Facility, was found 35 percent responsible for the inmate’s death and was assigned a liability of an additional $265,000.

The decision was reached last month in U.S. District Court on White Plains as closing arguments were being heard in the trial.

The Putnam Legislature approved the settlement of litigation at last night’s (Wednesday) meeting.

Spencer Sinkov was sentenced to the county jail in May of 2006 after Sheriff’s Department investigators arrested him on several felony charges relating to criminal sale and criminal possession of heroin. Sinkov committed suicide in his cell by hanging himself with a sweatshirt the following day after his family had visited him behind bars.

In court papers, the Sinkovs admitted knowing of their son’s drug addiction, testifying he had been previously sent for rehabilitation on two occasions. But the suit maintained that the Sheriff’s Department failed to place the inmate on an around-the-clock 24-hour watch even after an evaluation form completed during processing determined he was at risk for suicide.

Manhattan attorney Lewis Silverman, who represented Putnam County, said the case was settled “in the best interest of all parties, with no admission of liability on the county’s part.”

Sinkov’s attorney, Kim Berg, agreed the settlement was agreeable to both parties: “No amount of money will bring back my client’s son. We want to ensure that tragedies of this type don’t happen again.”

Bumgarner said the county’s insurance carrier would cover $500,000 of the damages with the county picking up a $100,000 deductible.

Sinkov also settled with Sheriff Donald Smith and corrections staff members Sgt. Louis Lapolla and Officer Joseph Vasaturo, who both processed Spencer Sinkov at the correctional facility. Bumgarner said the settlement covered the Sheriff’s Department employees, as well.

Bumgarner called the settlement in the “best public interest that avoids further litigation and/or a possible appeal.” She added that, had a jury verdict been reached, a “settlement could have cost the county millions of dollars.”