Democratic Sens. Liz Krueger of Manhattan, Suzi Oppenheimer of Mamaroneck, Westchester County, Neil Breslin of Albany, and David Valesky of Syracuse called on fellow Democratic Sen. Hiram Monserrate to resign. The four senators issued statements today, following a Queens judge’s decision Thursday that Monserrate was guilty of a misdemeanor after being accused of slashing his girlfriend in the face.
   Monserrate, a freshman senator from Queens, maintained that he was walking with a glass of water for his girlfriend last December, tripped, broke the glass and accidentally slashed her in the face. A state Supreme Court judge in Queens found Monserrate not guilty of two felonies and another misdemeanor in connection with the incident. Monserrate would have lost his seat automatically if he had been convicted of a felony. Senate Democratic leaders said they are in discussions on whether Monserrate should be disciplined by the body. “I believe Hiram Monserrate should not remain in the Senate, and for the sake of his constituents, the institution of the Senate and the Democratic party he should resign immediately based on the seriousness of his violent crime,” Krueger said in a statement. “I am strong believer in our judicial system, and the Court has now spoken,” Oppenheimer’s statement said. “Senator Monserrate has been convicted of assaulting his partner. Domestic violence has no place in civilized society. I have spent my life fighting for the rights of abused women, which have been the subject of this trial.” Sen. Ruben Diaz, D-Bronx, defended his colleague. “It is a hypocrisy for my fellow Senators to demand for a more severe punishment of one colleague who has been tried in a court of law and found not guilty, while these same colleagues have ignored the actions of another colleague who took a plea crime that could have resulted in the death of children and families on the road!” Diaz said in a statement, referring to former Sen. John Sabini, a Democrat who was convicted of drunk driving. The National Organization for Women of New York and NARAL Pro-Choice New York also called for Monserrate’s resignation.