Queens Supreme Court Judge Peter F. Vallone Jr. sentenced George Tsintzelis to the maximum 25-year sentence on Wednesday, February 18, for the heinous November 2024 attack on his mother, Paraveski Tsintzelis, 64.
“Okay, you’re done.” Queens Supreme Court Judge Peter F. Vallone Jr cut off whining and empty pleas before showing what justice truly means in a case like this. “You’re asking for mercy today, but what I give you today is justice. Justice you deserve. And I’ll give mercy––I’ll give mercy to your mom, to your victims — hundreds of victims in Astoria. The victims you would’ve committed crimes against if you aren’t in jail right now. But the sentence today is for what you did to your mom and what you did to your mom alone.” Those profound words came as George Tsintzelis, 37, shed “tears” in court, and received the maximum 25-year sentence on Wednesday February 18 for the heinous November 2024 attack on his mother, Paraveski Tsintzelis, 64.
Tsintzelis was found guilty in December of throwing his mother out of the window of her third-story Astoria apartment after she refused to give him money for drugs. Tsintzelis has continuously tried to claim that his mother was suffering from mental illness and jumped out the window herself––though no evidence has proved this.
Prosecutors argued that Tsintzelis, who has a string of prior arrests and claimed in court that his “previous crimes have nothing to do with this case,” had been terrorizing his mother for years––assaulting, abusing, and stealing from her to help fuel his drug habits. On the day he attempted to kill her, prosecutors said he held her at the window ledge at knifepoint before pushing her out of it. Not only did he leave her alone and in severe pain on the ground, but he also tried to shamelessly lie and claim he was never at the scene of the crime to begin with.
Assistant District Attorney Christina Mavrikis said in court, “Arguably the worst part of this is he left her there to die on the ground. He called 911 and he pretended to have no idea what just happened.” The DA further stated that even after his arrest and the order of protection was put into place following the attempt on his mother’s life, her convicted son still tried to manipulate her. “He called her from Rikers, violating the order of protection to try to emotionally manipulate her into not coming to court and testifying here to tell everybody what had happened to her,” the prosecutor continued: “She told me that she was haunted by the memory of that evening. She cannot sleep in her own bed anymore, and she has not done so since she returned from the hospital after the incident. She told me, ‘As a mother I tried. I love my son. I didn’t want this. I tried to help him, support him. I tried to get him into programs, I let him live with me. He needs help, but I’m also scared of what he’ll do to me if he gets out.’ She knows if he were to get out he is at great risk of injuring her and even killing her.”
Although Paraskevi survived the disturbing attack, she has a long road to recovery. She has now undergone eight surgeries, and her daughter, Argyro Tsintzelis, has reportedly said it may not even be her last.
In the end, Tsintzelis’s waterworks were no match for the justice handed down in the courtroom.