Schenectady man gets 18 months in prison for assaulting son of witness

A Schenectady man was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 months in prison for hitting a 15-year-old boy in retaliation for the boy’s mother testifying against his family in a federal drug trial. 

Patrick Civitello, 19, previously pleaded guilty to the assault, which happened on May 19, 2024 outside the Water’s Edge Restaurant in Glenville.

Civitello is the son of Jeffrey Civitello Sr. and the younger brother of Jeffrey Civitello Jr., who were convicted in April 2023 following a jury trial.

Patrick Civitello saw the witness at the restaurant with her 15-year-old son. Civitello was talking on the phone with his brother and told him “I gotta rag this b****. I gotta call you back.”

When the victims left the restaurant, Civitello punched the teen in the head and continued to punch and kick him when he hit the ground, prosecutors said. The teen had cuts and bruises to his head, neck and hand. 

Civitello also was fined $5,000 and must serve 3 years of post-release supervision.

Jeffrey C. Civitello was sentenced to 11 years in prison for trafficking cocaine, marijuana and possessing two firearms.

Civitello was also found guilty at a trial in April 2023 of working with his father, Jeffrey C. Civitello Sr., and three New York City-area men to traffic about 15 kilograms of cocaine in March and April 2021. Civitello Sr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and will have three years of post-supervised release.