Monier Gindy
Marrero, Louisiana
January 4, 2007

The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
January 6, 2007

Murdered cabbie dogged by tragedy

He lost his Marrero house, then lost his life in suspected robbery

Saturday, January 06, 2007
By Meghan Gordon
West Bank bureau

Even after a few lucrative days shuttling New Year's Eve 
revelers and Sugar Bowl fans in his taxi, Monier Gindy hit the 
streets for another all-nighter Thursday. He couldn't imagine how 
he was going to make ends meet after watching an electrical fire 
destroy his family's Marrero home four days earlier.

But as Gindy attempted to repair that tragedy, a more horrible 
one befell the family. Gindy was shot and killed on his route 
Thursday about midnight, a crime detectives believe was 
motivated by robbery.

Gindy, 64, became Jefferson Parish's first homicide victim of 
2007, after a year marred by one of the parish's highest murder 
rates since 1980. Unincorporated Jefferson tallied 66 homicides 
in 2006.

The killer gunned down Gindy in his cab outside an apartment 
complex at 6305 Fourth St. in Marrero, according to Col. John 
Fortunato of the Sheriff's Office. First responders found him 
slumped across the front seat with a single wound. He was dead 
at the scene, police said.

Gindy ignored the fears that kept his two brothers, also cabbies, 
off duty at night, said his sister Marcelle Orkoulas, 66, of 
Metairie.

But Gindy wasn't naive about crime and quickly parted with his 
earnings the few times robbers had threatened him, said his 26-
year-old son, who asked not to be named.

"He had a lot of guts all the time," said Maher Gindy, 48, his 
brother, who worried about him working into the late hours of the 
night.

Gindy immigrated with his wife, Samira, to New Orleans from 
Egypt in the late 1970s. He worked hard to buy a house, his own 
taxi and a few other cabs that he leased, all in his quest to 
provide for his wife, three children and two stepchildren, now 
adults.

A year of post-Katrina stress over paying bills and fighting 
insurers had finally come to an end for the Gindys in the past few 
months, as they settled into their home that underwent major 
repairs after the hurricane shredded its roof.

Gindy looked forward to the holidays, relatives said, because the 
clouds had seemed to clear. He could afford to spend more time 
at home and started getting to know his first grandchild, a girl 
born about six weeks ago.

On Sunday, the family went to services at St. Mark Coptic 
Orthodox Church near City Park. A few minutes after returning 
home, a fire started in a bedroom, Orkoulas said. Flames 
inflicted major damage to the just-repaired house and sent the 
couple and their daughter to live in a hotel while they searched 
for a rental house.

Orkoulas said her brother felt he had to use every moment to 
make a few extra dollars and start chipping away at another 
round of repair bills. She said he took a regular customer 
downtown to his workplace, his first trip of the night, then 
returned to the West Bank, where he was shot.

The week's two tragedies left the family reeling Friday.

Maher Gindy said he couldn't believe his brother had become 
ensnared in what felt like an out-of-control crime wave in metro 
New Orleans.

"We love the city and we live in the city and we don't know 
what's going on," he said. "It's like a war. Every five minutes you 
hear about something else. It's not like New Orleans. We 
enjoyed living here, working here, communicating with the 
tourists. It really hurts."

Anyone with information is asked to call Jefferson Parish
homicide Detective Sgt. Donald Meunier at (504) 364-5300, or
Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111 or toll free at (877) 903-7867.
Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn
money for tips that lead to an indictment.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Times-Picayune
Friday, October 19, 2007

Marrero teenager is guilty in killing of cabbie
He faces life in prison but plans an appeal

By Paul Purpura

A Marrero teenager was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder in the death of a cabdriver during an armed robbery attempt in a Marrero apartment complex 10 months ago.

The 12 Jefferson Parish jurors found David Page, 18, guilty in the Jan. 4 death of Moneir Gindy, 64, who was working extra hours in his Night Hawk cab to earn money after his family's Marrero home burned four days before his death.

Gindy was shot in the right side moments after he dropped off a passenger in the Villa D'Ames complex at 6305 Fourth St.

He was found slumped over on the driver's side, his left pants pocket empty and turned out. His wallet and $186 in cash were found in other pockets, and a "basically harmless" Daisy BB gun was under the front seat, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Keith Locascio testified.

The conviction will be appealed, Page's attorney Michael LeBlanc said. Page faces a mandatory life sentence in prison, which Judge Joan Benge of the 24th Judicial District Court will hand down Nov. 13.

Assistant District Attorneys Roger Jordan and Jay Adair pinned much of their case on the testimony of two witnesses who put Page and Darnell Junior, 17, of Marrero at the scene of Gindy's death.

Authorities do not know who pulled the trigger.

In a statement to Detective Sgt. Don Meunier after his Jan. 10 arrest, Page said he saw Junior, who was known as "Poppa," pull a gun from nearby bushes and demand Gindy's money.

"And the cab driver refused to give him the money and (Junior) pulled the trigger," Page told Meunier in a statement shared with the jury.

Junior was 16 at the time and is being tried as an adult on a second-degree murder charge. His trial date is not set.

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