Massachusetts Cop Block

A suspended Massachusetts state trooper was convicted of extortion in a federal court. At his trial, a former bookie testified that the trooper brutally mistreated him after lending him money (Source: The Boston Herald).

More information about the bookie’s testimony here and here:

“He said he would have no problem killing me if he had to. The guy’s a (expletive) animal,” said Robert Russo of Arlington, who claims he quit the gambling life on Jan. 2, 2012, two days after federal agents put Analetto behind bars.

…

Russo, 34, recalled over nearly five hours on the witness stand how he was suicidal, weighed 350 pounds and was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt in the summer of 2011 when Analetto, 49, of Belmont — and “the first and only” cop he’d ever had as a customer — stepped out from behind his betting alter ego “Big Red” and said, “ ‘What if I offer to help you?’ “ Russo said. “That’s kind of how the ball got rolling.”

Analetto, he said, fronted him $24,000 in cash to be partners. The officer demanded payments of $500 a week, plus a 20-percent cut of Russo’s commission, and insisted on using bizarre code words like “fish” to mean money. Within weeks, Russo testified their relationship took a “brutal” turn.

“There was no rest with him. Every conversation was him yelling at me and belittling me,” he said. “He wanted things his way. He was basically controlling me. I was his puppet.”

Here are the stories I tracked this past week:

• Carlos Miller reports that Hector Nunez, the man from the Haverhill who uploaded the video that was recently featured on this site, received another visit from the police. You can see his video of this second visit here:

• The Cape Cod Times reports that Somerville police officer Ariel Colazzo and Cambridge police officer Christopher Borum are both facing assault and battery charges after allegedly beating a DJ at a convention for drug officers. The DJ alleges that he was beat by at least six police officers, but has had trouble identifying them.
• Boston.com reports that the Boston Police department has fired an officer for excessive force and lying during an investigation. Officer David C. Williams was fired for tackling and using a chokehold on a corrections officer who recorded him during a traffic stop. Williams had been fired in 1998 for beating an undercover police officer, but was reinstated in 2005 after successfully appealing his firing. He plans to try to get his job back for a second time using an arbitration process.
• The Connecticut Post and Associated Press report that Dr. Frank Evangelista, Connecticut’s associate state medical examiner, is on trial for perjury in Massachusetts. Evangelista is accused of presenting conflicting testimony in two related murder trials while he was a medical examiner in Massachusetts. Evangelista was indicted in Plymouth County but will be prosecuted by the Bristol County DA’s office to avoid a conflict of interest.
• NECN reports that a Weymouth police dispatcher is on trial for pulling a gun on two teenagers and threatening them in a parking lot outside her apartment while off-duty. The dispatcher, Kristen Hart, claims she believed the two teens were burglarizing cars. In fact, one of the teens lived in the apartment building and the second was visiting.
• The Republican reports that a male pedestrian was hit by a Holyoke police cruiser. Police have yet to identify the officer who hit the pedestrian, but say they are investigating the incident.
• The Daily Items reports that a state police officer who was arrested in Saugus last year was found guilty of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, but avoided a OUI conviction. The Clerk Magistrate said that there wasn’t enough evidence for the OUI charge partly because the arresting officer didn’t perform a sobriety test at the time of arrest. You can read an old post I wrote about this case I here.
• Boston.com reports that the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld million dollar judgments in favor of families of victims of gangster “Whitey” Bulger. The Court found the federal government liable for the deaths due to the FBI’s corrupt relationship with Bulger.

As I said toward the end of last year, I will now be posting weekly news roundups. Instead of trying to write detailed articles about every police misconduct and police accountability-related story I come across, I will post links on the Massachusetts Cop Block Facebook and Twitter pages and make a weekly post that includes brief summaries of all the stories I found during the past week. Currently, I plan to post a news roundup every Monday.

First, here are a few stories from late last year:

• The Lowell Sun reports that Vesna Nuon, who was just elected to the Lowell City Council, accepted a $50,000 settlement from the city. Nuon was suing the city over a 2008 incident in which Lowell Police Officer Brian Kinney allegedly arrested him on a bogus “disorderly conduct” charge after he threatened to call Kinney’s supervisor and complain about his unprofessional behavior. As part of the settlement, Kinney must also apologize to Nuon.
• WGGB-TV reports that Spingfield Police Officer Rafael Nazario has been charged with rape and indecent assault and battery after allegedly raping an 18-year-old woman.
• The Sun Chronicle reports that cocaine and other drugs have gone missing from the Attleboro Police Department’s evidence room. Police Chief Kyle Heagney said he suspects that a cop is responsible and has launched an investigation. The Boston Herald reports that Heagney wishes he could drug test the officers in his department, but their union contract bars him from doing so.

And here the the first Massachusetts police misconduct and police accountability-related stories of the new year:

• The Boston Herald reports that state trooper John Bergeron shot a woman while hunting. The state police have described the incident as an accident, but Environmental Police are still investigating.
• WBZ-TV reports that Charlton police terrified a 5-year-old girl when they sent an officer to collect her overdue library books. Seems like a colossal overreaction, not to mention a waste of police resources. As one person who shared the story with me sarcastically commented, “All other crimes have been solved!”
• The Boston Herald reports that the FBI has arrested state police officer John M. Analetto on extortion charges. Analetto has been accused of lending an FBI informant money in exchange for a piece of his business and threatening to murder the informant multiple times.
• Boston.com reports that black box data disclosed by the state police shows Lt. Governor Tim Murray was driving 100 MPH and not wearing his seatbelt when he totaled his taxpayer-funded car during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Both Murray and the state police previously said accident was caused by black ice, but the release of the black box data have forced them to revise their story. They both now claim that Murray probably fell asleep at the wheel. Previously, the state police refused to release the black box data to the public even though they are required to by the Massachusetts Public Records Law, however, they finally released the data when Murray asked them to. Murray will be issued a $555 traffic citation.
• The Cape Cod Times reports that a judge ruled that Sandwich police violated a teen football player’s rights when they interrogated him without offering to record the interrogation.
• The Enterprise reports that former Brockton police lieutenant Charles Lincoln has been jailed for failing to make alimony payments to his ex-wife. Lincoln, now retired, became infamous when he called out sick more than 100 times in three years so he could work a second job as the head of a county jail and amass a huge pension. Lincoln has collected his $140,000 a year pension at taxpayer expense since 2004.
• Lastly, a man uploaded a YouTube video a few days ago which apparently depicts Haverhill police searching his home. The man frantically tells the camera that the police have entered his home without cause and assaulted him. At the end of the video, the police notice they are on camera and threaten to arrest the man for recording him. While I can’t confirm the man’s version of events, I will say that police have no right to arrest people for openly recording them. This man may want to consult a lawyer.

Remember, if you have a story or question you’d like to share with Massachusetts Cop Block, drop us a line on Facebook, Twitter, or send us a message using our contact page.

Off-duty state trooper Efrain Montanez was arrested on Friday by Lynn police officers. Montanez stands accused of nearly striking a Lynn police officers with his department-issed pickup truck after he was caught engaging in a sex act with a prostitute.

WBZ-TV has the story here:

Boston.com reports that on November 18th, State Police Captain Thomas McCarthy was arrested after leading Saugus police officers on a motor vehicle chase.

Saugus police were responding to an alarm an reports of an argument at a woman’s home. When they arrived, they found the woman standing in her garage and Captain McCarthy driving away in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser.

Shortly after, Saugus police officer James M. Scott found McCarthy swerving in and out of a lane on Central Street and attempted to pull him over. McCarthy kept driving for about a block, but finally stopped. At this point, McCarthy turned on his flashers to signal that he was a police officer.

Officer Scott approached McCarthy’s vehicle. He wrote in his report that he could smell alcohol on McCarthy’s breath. He told McCarthy to shut off his vehicle and McCarthy allegedly responded by saying something like “Are you kidding me?”

Scott asked McCarthy to shut off his vehicle again and McCarthy allegedly said “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m outta here.” At this point, he drove off.

McCarthy led Saugus police on a high speed chase, allegedly blowing through a stop sign, before finally stopping in the parking lot of Sears Automotive.

Scott and a second officer who has arrived as backup attempted to place McCarthy under arrest, but he resisted and they had to wrestle him to the ground to get him in handcuffs. After they arrested him, they searched his vehicle and found two unopened beer bottles, one empty beer bottle, and McCarthy’s firearm.

McCarthy was charged with failure to stop for a police officer and failure to stay in marked lanes by the Saugus police. He was also suspended indefinitely without pay from his job by the state police.

McCarthy was supposed to be arraigned at the Lynn District Court, but skipped out on the court hearing. His lawyer, Daniel W. O’Malley, told the court that McCarthy could not make it because he was at a “facility in Florida” which is likely a rehab facility of some sort. He filed a motion to exclude MJcCarthy from the arraignment, but a judge denied this motion. The judge did, however, agree to a motion to move the arraignment to December 2.

This story is pretty disturbing for a number of reasons. Obviously McCarthy’s behavior is extremely troubling in itself. However, the way the Saugus police dealt with him is also troubling. Although one officer indicated that he smelled alcohol on McCarthy’s breath and police found an empty bottle of beer in his car, they did not charge McCarthy with OUI. The police report for McCarthy’s arrest makes no mention of police conducting a field sobriety test, using a breathalyzer, or using any of the other methods police generally use to determine if a driver is drunk. This suggests that even though McCarthy led the police on a chase and resisted arrest, they were still willing to give him preferential treatment.

The Boston Herald reports that State Police filed a criminal complaint in the Lynn District Court seeking a probable cause hearing to charge McCarthy with OUI. They are also investigating whether or not Officer James Scott was pressured by his department to give McCarthy special treatment.

According to the Herald, McCarthy made $213,474 last year.

I’ll post an update on this story as soon as more information becomes available. In the meantime, you can check out this news video about the case from WFXT/Fox News 25:

Yesterday a jury convicted retired Massachusetts State Trooper Joseph Silva of gross sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault.

On November 22, 2009, Silva reportedly met with a woman he was introduced to via a social networking site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. After the two had lunch together at a restaurant, Silva said he wanted her to meet some friends at a bar to watch a Patriots football game. Instead of taking her to a bar, he drove her to his hotel room in Kittery, Maine, forced her inside, and raped her.

After the incident, the woman sought medical attention and reported the rape to the Kittery Police. Silva was arrested by Newburyport, Massachusetts police on December 9, extradited to Maine, and indicted in April, 2010.

Silva is currently being held without bail at the York County Jail. He will be sentenced on October 14. He faces up to 50 years in prison.

If you have any more details about this case or any other stories you’d like to share with Massachusetts Cop Block, send us a message using our contact page.

Update (11/02/11): News 8 WMTW reported on October 27 that Silva has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for gross assault, seven years each for two aggravated assault charges, and 10 years probation. The sentences are to be served concurrently which means that Silva will spend 10 years in prison.