Steven Mancuso, former Utica Attorney, Faces More Prison Time in Illegal Gun Case After Death of Girlfriend

A disbarred former Utica attorney faces up to 15-years in prison after being convicted of gun possession in an incident that involved the death of his girlfriend.

Steven Mancuso was found guilty on December 2, 2022, on one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. Mancuso's charges followed a death at his home on Leslie Ave in Utica last year, where his girlfriend, Lisa Falange, died from a gunshot wound to her head.

Mancuso has said his girlfriend took her own life in the October 2021 incident. However, it resulted in his arrest for illegal gun possession as a convicted felon. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara tells WIBX 950 that the woman's official cause of death - whether the gunshot wound was a suicide, homicide, or accidental - was undetermined following an autopsy.

Mancuso, 51, faces a maximum of 15-years on the two gun possession convictions. His sentencing date is set for February 1, 2023, the district attorney's office said.

The ex-attorney lost his license to practice law after his 2009 conviction for conspiring to defraud the United States, violating the Clean Air Act’s asbestos-related regulations and committing mail fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He was sentenced to 44 months in prison in that case, which also resulted in convictions against his father and brother.