wnbc.com
Men Who Burned Cross Plead Guilty To Hate Crime

POSTED: 11:55 am EDT August 8, 2008
UPDATED: 11:57 am EDT August 8, 2008

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Two young white men who burned a cross on a black family's lawn in the New York suburbs pleaded guilty to a hate crime.

The two men, Christopher Hudak, 20, of Cortlandt, and Ryan Martin, 19, of Montrose, set fire to a 4-foot-high cross on Nov. 21 outside the home in Cortlandt.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said Hudak pleaded guilty on Friday to five counts and Martin to four counts.

They face a maximum of seven years in prison on the top count, third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime, which is a felony.

Their sentencing will be Oct. 28.