Stephanie Rose Tuorto

Stephanie Rose Tuorto is a lawyer with offices in Melville, New York.  The majority of Stephanie's practice is dedicated to Divorce and Family Law in the State of New York, especially in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Stephanie was born and raised in Kings Park. She graduated from Kings Park High School in 2007. Academically, Stephanie was the Student of the Year in both Italian and A.P. U.S. History. She served as a judge at the Stony Brook University Latin Competition, the Model UN, and was a ambassador for the Suffolk County Executive. She was inducted into the National Honor Society, was President of the Italian Honor Society, and was elected Student Council Secretary.

In the Fall of 2006, Stephanie was the first athlete at KPHS (male or female) to sign a NCAA letter of intent play Division I Athletics (Women's Lacrosse). In both Cheerleading and Lacrosse, Stephanie was the Rookie of the Year, Coaches Award, and All-County. She was inducted into the Suffolk County "Dellecave" Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and she was also a HS Academic All-American.

At Quinnipiac University, despite battling difficult injuries, Stephanie maintained nearly a 4.0 GPA throughout her entire undergraduate academic career. Stephanie was inducted into Quinnipiac University's Political Science and History Honor Societies.

In the Fall of 2010, Stephanie was selected by her professor, a prosecutor in the New Haven District Attorney's Office, to lead Quinnipiac at the Second Annual Berkeley College Justice and Legal Studies Debate Competition held in New York City. Stephanie served as the only female and team captain. Despite suffering a bad concussion the day before, Stephanie led her team to win the Championship, where she also won the best oral advocate award, given by a member of Columbia Law School.

Stephanie was served as the Team Positive Play Captain while also studying for the LSAT for the second time. Stephanie was a 2x Academic All-American.

On May 1, 2011, the Quinnipiac Women's Lacrosse Team won the Northeast Conference Championship on their home field for the very first time. That same night, during the New York Mets game, it was announced that Osama Bin Ladden was finally captured and killed by the United States Military for his attack on 9/11. This only further solidified Stephanie's interest to work as a criminal prosecutor in New York.

Stephanie's Quinnipiac Women's Lacrosse team went on to the NCAA tournament for the first and only time in the school's history. Stephanie had her final collegiate lacrosse game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Stephanie graduated from Quinnipiac University, magna cum laude, at the top of her class. Stephanie majored in Political Science with a minor in History. Stephanie focused much of her Senior Thesis on the U.S. Constitution, human rights violations, and on the psychology of sex, love, and life after death. Stephanie was awarded the Best Senior Thesis, the University's highest honor for the College of Liberal Arts, which required both written and oral arguments regarding illegal searches and seizures set forth in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Stephanie began her legal studies in August 2011 at Touro Law School in Central Islip, after having ACL surgery. Stephanie achieved many accolades during her three years at Touro. She was the Business Editor of the Touro Law Review, which published her case note entitled, "You Blew It: The Confrontation Clause & Breathalyzers as Testimonial Evidence."

Stephanie was the Co-Founder and President of the Trial Advocacy & Practice Society which is now recognized as an Honor Society. Stephanie also was the President of the Unemployment Action Center and served on the New York State Board of Directors. Stephanie was awarded "Advocate of the Year" at New York Law School for her appellate advocacy at the Department of Labor for the Town of Smithtown. Stephanie was an Honors Scholar and member of the Criminal Law Society and Italian/Columbian Lawyers of Suffolk County.

Stephanie was selected for a Public Interest Law Intership at the Queens County DA's Office, Homicide Bureau. Stephanie assisted on a jury trial involving a murder that occurred five years earlier between two rival gangs in South Jamaica Queens.

Stephanie's dream of working at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office came to fruition when she was selected as the David Berg Fellow for Touro's Advanced Criminal Prosecution Externship. Stephanie was hired by the Suffolk County District Attorney in her third year of law school.

At Touro Law, Stephanie was the recipient of the following awards:
- CALI Award for Academic Excellence: Criminal Trial Practice;
- CALI Award for Academic Excellence: Advanced Criminal Prosecution Externship;
- Exemplary Contributions to the Quality of Student Life;
- Exceptional Contributions to the Leadership of the Trial Advocacy Board; and
- Outstanding Loyalty, Dedication, and Contributions to the Touro Law Review.

Stephanie proudly served as an Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County for nearly eight years, finishing her career as a Senior ADA with the Major Crime Bureau. Stephanie has prosecuted and tried many notable cases which have garnered much media attention. Stephanie's prosecution and trial work is extensive including leaving the scene of an accident, child pornography, child sexual abuse, rape, prostitution, sexual assault, forcible touching, armed robbery, riots, and murder. During her tenure, Stephanie was a dedicated member the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Leandra's Law (enacted in 2009). Stephanie was also one of the first people in the history of the SCDAO to secure a de novo indictment after helping to preserve "touch DNA" and conducting an in-person lineup involving an illegal immigrant immediately after he attempted to drag and rape a young woman jogging in Smithtown.

Stephanie's final jury trial in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office was a homicide which she was selected for and tried alongside the Chief of the Child Abuse & Domestic Violence Bureau.

On March 24, 2021, at approximately 3:30pm, David John Bliss, Jr. was standing on the sidewalk in Port Jefferson waiting for his pizza order. The defendant Joseph "JoJo" Garcia (a stranger) shot David with a "ghost" gun from just a few feet away. The defendant and his friends fled the busy street, which was full of people and children who had just gotten out of school. Many people and first responders tried to save David's life, but tragically his life was cut short. The "Port Jeff Pizza Shooting" was instantly all-over social media, triggered school lockdowns, and instilled instant panic in the community and for David's family.

This wanton act of deliberate violence, which hit very close to home for Stephanie, caused her to never waver in her pursuit of justice for David and his family. On April 7, 2022, the jury convicted the defendant of all charges including the intentional murder of David, who was 25 at the time of his death. David is survived by his parents David John Bliss, Sr., Theresa Bliss, and his younger brother Jacob.

Stephanie left the DA's Office to pursue a career in the civil realm, prosecuting sexual abuse cases across NYS involving the Child Victim's Act and the Adult Survivor's Act. Stephanie spent over three years conducting hundreds of depositions and investigations involving the cover-up of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Stephanie also led her firm's mediation and confidential settlement relating to the abuse of patients by disgraced New York Urologist Darius Paduch. Stephanie also conducted numerous non-party depositions and hearings across the country for the Boy Scouts of America litigation, which is widely regarded as the largest and most consequential sex abuse scandal in United States History.

The impact Stephanie has made on the lives of her clients is something she holds very dear to her heart. It is of the utmost importance to Stephanie to build a relationship with her clients rooted in trust, honesty, and transparency. Stephanie has an effortless ability to understand the complexities of one's issues while relating to people on a human level with empathy, courage, and vigor. Stephanie constantly uses her knowledge, skills, education, and trial work. Stephanie treats her law practice like an art form--with her own sense of style. She is a tenacious advocate, natural leader, and a true professional. Stephanie treats her clients with dignity, respect, and guides them as if they were her own family member or friend. Stephanie is well respected among her colleagues of the New York State bar and has excelled in many areas of the law. Her relentlessness, grit, and determination coupled with her compassion, innate curiosity, and ability to recount information is awe-inspiring.

Stephanie's work ethic was instilled in her by her parents and her three older brothers. Her integrity and character are exemplified by how she carries herself in and out of the courtroom. Stephanie and her growing family have a "point to the scoreboard" mentality. Stephanie truly believes in the words of legendary Football Coach Vince Lombardi, "perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

Stephanie and her husband have instilled within their own family the values that they were raised with--to never give up and always be a humble, respectful, and kind. And above all else, to keep the faith and be good person, especially when no one is watching.