DC 37 Activist Johannesen Is Murder Victim

By RICHARD STEIER

Veronica Johannesen

Veronica Johannesen, a 28-year employee of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development who was an activist in the reform movement at District Council 37, was found shot to death in her Staten Island home Dec. 20.

The Staten Island Advance quoted police sources as saying that her husband, John, had called 911 early that morning to say that he had shot his wife to death. He was taken into custody later that day but was not immediately charged in the murder.

Democracy Advocate

Ms. Johannesen, who was 50, was one of the more vocal participants in Members for Change, a group of reformers who sought to create a more-democratic DC 37 by unearthing corruption and pushing unsuccessfully for a change in the union's constitution to allow members to directly elect their officers.

One colleague whom she had helped at HPD, Dennis Herlihy, said, "She was well-liked by everyone in the agency. She did such good for people here - she always fought for the underdog."

Funeral arrangements were not known at presstime Dec. 21.