Eli Cherkasky found guilty of strangling Kristen Schuck in Halloween bar brawl

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Eli Cherkasky put his hands around Kristen Schuck's neck on November 1 during a brawl at Failte Bar on Second Avenue
The fight began when Cherkasky picked up Schuck’s purse and scarf from a chair and she told him not to touch her things
He yelled at her before she threw beer in his face, claimed Schuck
Cherkasky could be jailed for a year when he is sentenced next month
He has resigned from his job at the Manhattan District Attorney's office

Published: 19:26 EST, 25 September 2015 | Updated: 22:23 EST, 25 September 2015

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A prosecutor accused of choking a woman in a New York bar on Halloween during a drunken brawl was found guilty on Friday.

Judge Ann Scherzer told Eli Cherkasky: 'I do find that the people have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime of assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and harassment.'

The New York Post reports that Cherkasky, 35, stood in the courtroom with his mouth open as though shocked, while his father Michael - a former lawyer at his office - looked on.

Guilty: Prosecutor Eli Cherkasky, pictured left in court on Friday, was found guilty of choking Kristen Schuck during a bar brawl last Halloween

Cherkasky was suspended from his job last fall after being arrested for drunkenly assaulting Kristen Schuck at Failte bar on Second Avenue in Manhattan on Halloween night. Cherkasky was dressed as Superman at the time.

He resigned from his job with the Manhattan District Attorney's office on Friday - a few hours after he was found guilty.

Schuck cried in court last week when she testified against the lawyer, who she said accosted her while he was searching for his jacket at the busy bar early on November 1.

Cherkasky picked up Schuck’s purse and scarf from a chair and she snapped at him and told him not to touch her things.

'He screamed at me, "You c***!" and started rushing toward me,' she said.

'I splashed beer in his face. I thought it would slow him down or stop him.'

That's when Cherkasky pushed her into a stair railing, put his hands around her neck, and choked her, she added.

'I was petrified,' she said. 'I thought he was trying to kill me.'

Kristen Schuck, pictured outside the court on Friday, cried in court last week when she testified against the lawyer, who she said accosted her while he was searching for his jacket at the busy bar early on November 1

Defense lawyer Paul Schetman painted a different picture of the incident and said Schuck was the real aggressor and threw beer in Cherkasky's face before 'drunkenly stumbling onto the railing'.

'Miss Schuck’s testimony was false,' the lawyer said. 'It was dramatically false. It was drama.

'She needed two breaks during direct examination. She began crying at the outset, she began crying again and needed a break, she even cried once on cross-examination.

'Her motive is hard to know but here’s an obvious one: Miss Schuck seems to enjoy the spotlight.'

The jury had access to blurry surveillance footage of the moments leading up to the attack.

Cherkasky will return to court for sentencing on November 5 and faces up to a year behind bars.

Cherkasky was suspended from his job last fall after being arrested for drunkenly assaulting Kristen Schuck at Failte bar (pictured) on Second Avenue in Manhattan on Halloween night. Cherkasky was dressed as Superman at the time. He resigned from his job on Friday