Stephanie Rose Tuorto

Stephanie was born and raised in Kings Park, New York. She graduated from Kings Park High School where she signed her National Letter of Intent to play Division I Women's Lacrosse at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut as a defender.

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 her Senior Year, 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, winning the competitions and garnering her the best oral advocate award. During that time, Stephanie was also selected by her coaches and teammates as Positive Play Captain while also studying for the LSAT for the second time.

On May 1, 2011, the Quinnipiac Women's Lacrosse Team won their 1st Conference Championship on their home field. That same night, during broadcast of 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. Stephanie's passion for the lacrosse and the law began to grow. Her 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. She was awarded with Quinnipiac University's Best Senior Thesis Award for her studies relating to the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Stephanie left Connecticut and went back home to Kings Park where she began her studies at Touro Law School in Central Islip. Stephanie garnered many accolades and accomplishments during her three years of law school. She graduated as the Business Editor of the Touro Law Review publishing 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 advocacy at the Department of Labor for the Suffolk County Fourth District, Town of Smithtown. During her tenure at Touro, Stephanie was an Honors Scholar and member of the Criminal Law Society and Italian/Columbian Lawyers of Suffolk County.
Stephanie was selected as Public Interest Law Fellow as a legal intern at Queens County DA's Office with the Homicide Bureau. Stephanie aided in the investigation and prosecution in a jury trial of a murder involving two rival gangs that occurred 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 as part of Touro's Advanced Criminal Prosecution Externship. Stephanie was hired by the Suffolk County District Attorney in her 3L year of law school.

Prior to her graduation at Touro, 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 Contributions, Loyalty and Dedication 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 over the years ranging from leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, child pornography, child sexual misconduct and abuse, adult sexual assault and harassment, armed robbery, prostitution, riot and disorderly conduct, and murder. During her tenure, Stephanie was a dedicated member the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Leandra's Law (the Child Passenger Protection Act enacted in 2009 following the tragic death of 11-year-old Leandra Rosado).

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 and Domestic Violence Bureau. On April 7, 2022, the defendant was convicted of murdering David John Bliss, Jr. On March 24, 2021, at approximately 3:30pm, David was standing in the middle of the sidewalk waiting for his pizza order. Joseph "JoJo" Garcia (a stranger) shot David with a "ghost" gun from just a few feet away. The defendant and his associates fled the busy street, which included several patrons of local establishments and children who had just gotten out of school. Many Good Samaritans tried to save David's life on Main Street in Port Jeff, but David was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The "Port Jeff Pizza Shooting" was instantly all-over social media, the news, trigger school lockdowns and fear in the local community. 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.
David, who was 25 at the time of his death, 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 the state and the country involving the Child Victim's Act and the Adult Survivor's Act. Stephanie spent over three years conducting "mass tort" litigation with a focus on religious, educational, and medical institutions with a focus on abuse/cover-up within the Catholic Church and by disgraced New York State Urologist Darius Paduch. Stephanie was a member of the Boy Scouts of America litigation, which is widely regarded as one of the largest and most consequential sex abuse scandals 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 zealous advocacy. Stephanie has an effortless ability to understand the complexities of one's trauma while relating to people on a human level with empathy, courage, and vigor. Stephanie has used her skills, education, and background to cultivate her practice of law. Stephanie treats her work like an art form--with her own sense of style. Stephanie is a tenacious advocate and a true professional, who treats her clients with dignity, respect, and advises and guides them as if they were her own family or friend. Stephanie is well respected among her colleagues of the New York State bar and has excelled in many areas of the law. She is confident, compassionate, and was born with an innate curiosity for life.

Stephanie's work ethic was instilled in her by her parents and her older brothers. Her dedication to her clients and her craft is evidenced by how she carries herself in and out of the courtroom. Stephanie and her growing family have a "point to the scoreboard" mentality. As a lawyer, Stephanie truly believes in the words of legendary American Football Coach Vince Lombardi, as it merges her two passions sports and law: "perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

But most importantly, Stephanie and her husband have instilled within their own family to always be a good person, especially when no one is watching.