By Scott Sieber
Salvatore Acquista, formerly of 149-31 15th Drive, cut off his wife's ex-boyfriend, Michael Iuliano, 27, while the two men were driving on 149th Street and 32nd Avenue late in the afternoon on June 18, 2004, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.The two men got out of their vehicles, according to Brown, and Acquista stabbed Iuliano once with a two-inch pocket folding knife in the left side of his abdomen. The puncture wound pierced an abdominal artery and caused extensive bleeding, which nearly led to Iuliano's death, Brown said.After the stabbing occurred, Acquista threw the knife down a sewer drain, according to trial testimony. The weapon was never found.According to the trial testimony, Acquista said the incident occurred because Iuliano had been stalking his wife. He testified that the act was in self-defense.Acquista was convicted of assault in the second degree by a jury of seven men and five women, who deliberated for seven hours over two days following a two-week trial before Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter in Queens County Supreme Court.”The jury didn't believe him,” said a DA spokeswoman of the trial.Shortly after his car was blocked by Acquista, Iuliano said he felt he had no choice but to get out of his car because he felt alone and vulnerable, according to trial testimony.”The defendant attacked the victim with a knife, stabbed him and pierced an artery, nearly causing the victim to bleed to death,” Brown said. “The conviction ensures that justice has been done and that the defendant has been held accountable for a violent crime.”Acquista, who worked as a construction worker and mortgage broker, will be sentenced on June 27.Reach reporter Scott Sieber by e-mail at news@timesledger or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
