Opinion
October 26, 1998
Appeal from the County Court, Rockland County (Kelly, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
There was ample corroboration of the accomplice's testimony regarding the defendant's role in the two robberies ( see, People v. Steinberg, 79 N.Y.2d 673, 683; People v. Higgins, 170 A.D.2d 621). This corroboration included the defendant's statements, as well as the testimony of the various witnesses confirming that the defendant was employed at the two stores which were robbed at the time the respective incidents occurred. Furthermore, the testimony of an employee of NYNEX, the local telephone company, confirmed that prior to each incident, on the day each occurred, the defendant called his friend, the accomplice, who actually went into the stores, and after displaying a firearm, forcibly took money.
The sentence imposed was neither harsh nor excessive ( see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80, 83).
The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit.
Ritter, J. P., Thompson, Pizzuto and McGinity, JJ., concur.