SCHENECTADY Police asked to help more on Hill Residents bring list of demands BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
A day after Hamilton Hill residents told the Schenectady City Council that they’ve seen a sudden increase in gang members and drug dealers roaming certain streets, new Police Chief Mark R. Chaires is adding that data to the city’s crime map and using it to tweak the patrol schedule for the neighborhood. He’s also adding data gleaned from the Hamilton Hill neighborhood groups and other activists. “We’re going to come up with a plan based on all that data,” he said. “It will just take a matter of days to get it together.” Chaires said resident Paul Stewart got his attention when he told the City Council that certain streets on Hamilton Hill had suddenly gotten much worse. “There is an increase in young drug dealers and gang members walking the streets, looking for trouble. People are uncomfortable sending their children to the park or Hamilton Hill Arts Center,” Stewart said Monday. “We want increased law enforcement within a three-block radius of the park and the arts center and the Boys and Girls Club. You have children walking out of there and as soon as they do, they’re meeting drug dealers. This has to change.” Chaires said police attempt to react to changing crime trends by tracking them through a computerized crime mapping program. While they would have changed their patrols eventually without the residents’ complaints, they will make the adjustments now. “You can always make adjustments. Even though it’s a small area, things can fluctuate. Drug houses can open up. Things can change. You can’t set something into motion and leave it,” Chaires said. He’s hoping that if he actively seeks out information for the crime map, residents will be more willing to provide information in the future. “We gladly welcome their input. You cannot provide us with too much information,” he added, saying that although residents’ complaints may be inaccurate sometimes, they usually know their neighborhood better than anyone else. MANY DEMANDS Adjusting patrols won’t completely satisfy the residents who complained Monday. They wanted more patrols near the children’s centers on the Hill but also asked for daily foot and bike patrols. That, police officials say, is impossible at current staffing levels. Instead, they assign occasional walking patrols in most neighborhoods. Residents also asked for a host of other actions at Monday’s council meeting. Their proposals, which were developed through a Weed and Seed meeting in June, generally focused on improving the Hamilton Hill-Vale area. They asked the city to expand its summer programs at the parks and create a community center that would serve as the hub for all youth employment openings as well as all services and programs for youth. They also asked the city to secure funding to develop a small grocery store in the neighborhood, negotiate with contractors to train residents for construction jobs and redevelop the dying business district on Brandywine Avenue. They proposed a “food shuttle” to help low-income residents get to low-cost groceries so they wouldn’t have to buy food at the much more expensive corner stores, asked the council to increase support for the emergency food pantry and called for better lighting on the most crime-ridden street corners in hopes of deterring criminals. They also asked the city to create an Office of Community Information and Advocacy, which would be designed to “attack” any negative media stories about the neighborhood. Victoria Hurewitz, board president of Better Neighborhoods Inc., said the office is needed to help BNI sell several houses it renovated on Emmett Street. “We have a lot of trouble marketing property in Hamilton Hill and we feel it’s possibly because of unfounded negative perceptions,” she said, adding that the media “contributes to the unjustified negative characterization” of Hamilton Hill. Council members offered some support for the residents’ ideas. “I believe a lot of good ideas were presented,” Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard said. “Residents involved in their city and going to meetings make for a stronger city and I hope you’ll all be back.” Councilman Mark Blanchfield said the youth employment center should be a city priority. “Jobs for young people — we should really put that at the top of our list because that does lead to other things,” he said. Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.
The Hill is at the east side of Rotterdam......when the city police begin their 'hunt' where does everyone think these animals will move too?????
Where is the plan for the east side of Rotterdam????? If it looks like we dont care then those who are integrity challenged and dont care will look for new 'hunting grounds' and territory via the easiest path.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Police department needs to improve leadership First published: Thursday, September 25, 2008
They have been called rogues, thugs and cowboys by their own department and city. Three Schenectady police officers waited, suspended for more than eight months, until finally they were brought before Schenectady City Judge Karen Drago to hear their indictments — official misconduct, which means they did not file the appropriate paperwork, and one of them did not turn on his camera during the transport of the criminal.
All I can say is, really? The City of Schenectady and New York state taxpayers should be astounded and ashamed that their government wasted time and resources on such a frivolous case.
Three officers who have gone above and beyond for the citizens of Schenectady during their careers are being treated like criminals because they didn't fully comply with department policy (filing a use of force form).
This is an embarrassment for all people involved with the case.
I think we have put these men through enough and they should be given the respect and decency they deserved months ago. It is time for the city and its police department to move on.
We want these men and women to willingly go to work every day with the possibility of never returning home to their loved ones, yet they are working with a community that is against them, for a department that continues to ineffectively and unsuccessfully manage itself, and for a mayor who considers them guilty.
Now these officers have to fear losing their jobs and being criminally prosecuted, all because they didn't fill out a form. Yet all of the administrative staff remain in positions of authority.
It's time to re-evaluate the department's "leadership."
SCHENECTADY Former police chief indicted Greg Kaczmarek used, sold drugs, charges allege BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Former Schenectady police chief Greg Kaczmarek both procured drugs for his personal use and sold them for profit, state Attorney General’s officials charged Thursday. Kaczmarek would deal directly with Kerry Kirkem, the head of a large Schenectady-based drug operation, chastising Kirkem that he was holding up “business” when cocaine wasn’t available, an indictment alleges. The former chief even went so far as to counsel Kirkem on what to do in response to a large drug seizure related to the organization, telling the kingpin in the den of a Central Avenue topless bar, DiCarlo’s Gentlemen’s Club, to move the organization’s drug stash houses and change their cellphone numbers, the state claims. But it was already too late, authorities say. In an indictment unsealed Thursday, the state Attorney General’s Office unveiled its case against the former chief, indicting both him and his wife Lisa on six separate counts of conspiracy and drug possession. The indictment includes a laundry list of telephone conversations secretly recorded between the Kaczmareks and Kirkem. “It is shocking to all of us that a former police chief is alleged to have been intricately involved in a narcotics ring, but no one is above the law,” said state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose office is prosecuting the case. “The conduct Greg Kaczmarek is charged with in this case is an insult to all members of law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect us.” Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek are now among 25 people indicted related to the drug operation. Of those, 19 have already taken plea deals. Among those is Kirkem. He pleaded guilty in June and is to get 12 years in state prison. DENY CHARGES The Kaczmareks arrived at Schenectady County Court Thursday morning together and with Lisa’s son, Miles Smith. Smith was a co-defendant in the case and was among the 19 to have taken deals. None made comments as they entered the courthouse. And, six years removed from his stint as chief of the Schenectady Police Department, Greg Kaczmarek and his wife both appeared before Schenectady County Court Judge Karen Drago, pleading innocent to all the charges. They both answered standard questions, giving their Social Security numbers and birth dates. Greg Kaczmarek’s birthday, Feb. 20, was a centerpiece in a previously obtained telephone transcript where the couple allegedly requested drugs for the event. His attorney, Thomas O’Hern, did not return a call for comment later. Lisa Kaczmarek’s attorney, Kevin Luibrand, noted that the accusations against her are essentially the same as before. Drago continued Lisa Kaczmarek’s bail at $10,000 and set her husband’s at the same. He posted bail on the spot. Both were fingerprinted and photographed. Greg Kaczmarek served as Schenectady police chief from 1996 to 2002, retiring in the wake of a department drug scandal that sent four officers to prison. Allegations of drug use have long dogged him, even predating his time as chief. In the days before he was appointed, he denied the rumors at a news conference. Thursday’s indictment goes into much more detail about the Kaczmareks’ alleged involvement in the drug ring than the initial indictment in May. Authorities apparently realized they had only enough to indict Lisa Kaczmarek then but mentioned Greg Kaczmarek in that indictment. In the intervening four months, however, investigators looked through mountains of evidence, including thousands of telephone calls, officials said. Investigators used voice recognition techniques to identify the callers. They also were able to match phone numbers to them. State Police C-NET Lt. Michael Tietz, whose investigators helped run the case, noted that the Kaczmareks were not the targets of the investigation initially. The majority of callers were users, looking to buy drugs for themselves, he said. The information uncovered was then presented to prosecutors. “Nobody feels good about arresting a former public official,” Tietz said. “But he chose the path he took and he’ll have to deal with the consequences.” INDICTMENT DETAILS Details of what investigators allegedly found are in the indictment, including multiple phone calls between Greg Kaczmarek and Kerry Kirkem in February, each of them secretly recorded by state police wiretaps. According to the indictment, Greg Kaczmarek received a shipment of cocaine from Kerry Kirkem in early January. Lisa Kaczmarek then paid for the shipment days later. The indictment offers the following details: The lengthy list of phone calls begins Feb. 1. On that day alone, there were at least four separate calls between Greg Kaczmarek and Kirkem. In the first call, at 9:18 a.m., the former chief asked Kirkem to call him back once Kirkem got out of bed. Later phone calls that day refer to alleged requests by Greg Kaczmarek for cocaine. Kirkem responded that he was awaiting a shipment. Greg Kaczmarek told Kirkem that he was holding him up so that Kaczmarek could not “do business.” He obtained more cocaine from Kirkem the next day. Kirkem even confided in Lisa Kaczmarek that he was unhappy with the large drug source and would get a new one with better quality. The calls began again Feb. 3, with Lisa Kaczmarek asking for more cocaine. And they continued in the days that followed. On Feb. 6, Lisa Kaczmarek told Kirkem he could deliver the cocaine the next day. They also had the money to pay for a previous delivery. Kirkem then told a worker to package cocaine “for the chief.” Kirkem, who was then with Lisa’s son, Miles Smith, then offered to drop it off but for reasons not included in the indictment, Lisa asked for a brief delay. She did not want Kirkem dropping off cocaine with her son in the car. She would be home later to accept the drugs. Miles Smith has already admitted to a charge related to the conspiracy. The indictment then repeats prior allegations that Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek wanted cocaine to celebrate his birthday. Those allegations also included an alleged offer to pick up a shipment himself Feb. 18 and that he would “flash his badge.” New, however, is information concerning an alleged meeting between the Kaczmareks and Kirkem Feb. 20 to discuss a response to a police drug seizure. Greg Kaczmarek allegedly told Kirkem he needed to move his stash houses and change telephone numbers. The worker who lost the drugs to police, Misty Gallo, also should be fired. Stash houses were soon moved, authorities alleged, with the help of Smith. The Kaczmareks face two conspiracy counts, the higher related to cocaine, the lower to marijuana. In the alleged marijuana conspiracy, Kirkem would collect money from the Kaczmareks and others generated through marijuana sales. On Feb. 3, Greg Kaczmarek allegedly asked Kirkem for marijuana, but only enough for personal use. Two days later, Lisa Kaczmarek allegedly offered to give Kirkem $300 from Greg Kaczmarek’s cocaine sales and $120 from her own marijuana sales. She also needed another four or five bags of marijuana to sell. The specific drug charges accuse the Kaczmareks each of possessing more than one-eighth ounce of cocaine Feb. 2 and Feb. 6 and possessing cocaine with intent to sell that same day.
PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Former Schenectady Police Chief Greg Kaczmarek walks toward the Schenectady County Courthouse with his wife Lisa on Thursday.
Rumors of drug use go back years Kaczmarek publicly denied those allegations in 1996 BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
They were two statements from Greg Kaczmarek 12 years apart, each with high stakes and each with nearly the same intent, if not style. On June 19, 1996, a week before he would be appointed Schenectady’s 16th police chief, Kaczmarek was forceful. “I am not a drug user,” he said. “I am not a drug abuser and I have never been one.” On Thursday, with the stakes even higher, he was more succinct: “Not guilty.” Kaczmarek’s indictment Thursday on multiple conspiracy and drug possession counts adds another chapter to his history with the city and department. It also dredges up difficult memories for a city and police department that even today they are still trying to shake. And it comes as the department’s 18th chief, Mark R. Chaires, marked his first week in offi ce, asking a city to trust him to make the department outstanding again. “You’ve got a new chief who just started,” Schenectady County Sheriff Harry Buffardi said Thursday, “who, in my observation, is looking to put things in perspective and deal with the issues and something like this happens. “He’ll get beyond that.” Kaczmarek, who was a 27-year veteran of the department, spent six of those years as chief. He stepped down in 2002, his fi nal three years in turmoil over an FBI investigation of the Police Department. Four officers — Michael F. Hamilton Jr., Nicola Messere, Michael Siler and Richard Barnett — each did prison time as a result of the federal probe. Michael Hamilton was convicted of tipping off an informant, Messere of drug possession. Siler and Barnett admitted to extortion and drug counts. Retired internal affairs officers even accused Kaczmarek of ignoring warnings that some officers engaged in illegal activities. He denied those accusations, saying he called for an investigation as soon as he had evidence. There have been others since. Officer Kenneth Hill in 2004 admitted to giving a gun to a drug dealer. Detective Jeffrey Curtis in 2007 admitted to taking drugs from the department evidence locker. But the FBI investigation has remained the gold standard with which to compare department scandals. Even before Kaczmarek became chief, there were warnings that dogged him as he rose through the ranks. Those warnings led to the now-infamous 1996 news conference where he denied being a drug user. Then-mayor Albert Jurczynski admitted the rumors made him hesitant to promote Kaczmarek. The mayor then also asked for anyone with a serious accusation to come forward. A couple of anonymous calls came in but they were deemed baseless. Kaczmarek was appointed chief eight days later. A message left with Jurczynski Thursday was not returned. Current city officials, including Mayor Brian U. Stratton, also did not return calls. Stratton, however, was a councilman in 1996 and opposed Kaczmarek then. Chaires and Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett did not return calls requesting comment. But Frank Duci, who had fought as mayor to appoint Kaczmarek as chief in 1993, called the fresh allegations “truly sad.” “I feel real bad because of the fact that he was a police officer,” Duci said. “Being so knowledgeable, I never thought he would ever be involved in anything like this. It’s truly sad.” Duci acknowledged then-public safety commissioner Charles Mills raising the issue, but there was no evidence. Mills, who died in the 2001 World Trade Center attack, said in a 1996 interview that he took the accusations seriously. “To me, it wasn’t a question of whether he did it or not,” Mills said. “It was the reputation of the department that had to be clarified, because the rumors were widespread. . . . I had no problem with his competence in 1993. I had problems with the allegations against him in 1983.” The allegations against Kaczmarek dated back to at least 1980, Kaczmarek said then, saying he had been called “Sgt. Snow” and “Lt. Noriega” behind his back. That first bid for chief ended with opposition from the City Council, which abolished the job to prevent him from taking it. That move was later ruled illegal. Kaczmarek, the son of a city detective, joined the Police Department in 1975. Buffardi said he has known Kaczmarek since 1973. Kaczmarek’s late father, John David Kaczmarek, was also a long-time undersheriff. “It’s very unfortunate,” Buffardi said of the current accusations. “His father was my boss, someone who had an influential career, one of my mentors, teachers and guiders. He’s since passed and, in some ways, I’m glad he’s not here to see this.”
It took the state attorney general’s office an extra four and a half months to bring charges against Greg Kaczmarek, but the delay will have been worth it if it leads to a conviction that sends the former Schenectady police chief to prison — at least for some period of time. It seemed clear enough from the transcripts of phone calls released in the big round of indictments in early May that Kaczmarek was not merely an illegal user of cocaine, but well aware of his wife Lisa’s business dealings involving the drug. In fact, it was hard to believe from the transcripts, and from the state police indictment of his wife, that Kaczmarek himself didn’t have a role in her enterprise: He was allegedly party to a strategy session between his wife and supplier Kerry “Slim” Kirkem after police intercepted a shipment of drugs bound for Schenectady in February, and on a taped phone conversation between those two, the former chief was heard in the background offering to drive to Long Island with Kirkem to pick up a shipment of drugs. In that same conversation, Mrs. Kaczmarek allegedly quoted her husband as saying he’d “flash his badge” if necessary. According to the new indictments, Kaczmarek actually coached Kirkem on how to keep the cops at bay — to get a new telephone number and find new places to “stash” his drugs — after the shipment was intercepted; and in repeated “coded and cryptic” phone conversations, he is alleged to have pressured Kirkem to supply him with drugs — both for his and his wife’s personal use and to sell. Even though Kaczmarek retired several years ago, his behavior reflects badly on a department that was riddled with scandal not only when he was in charge of it but for many years later. And on the city in general: Crime remains a serious problem in Schenectady, and stories like this one make it difficult to escape the impression that its police department isn’t partly responsible. After all, didn’t any of the department’s current or recent past employees have the slightest inkling about what the former chief was up to? It remains to be seen whether the evidence against Kaczmarek is solid enough for a conviction. Not only was the language in a lot of the phone conversations cited in the indictment “coded and cryptic,” the credibility of any prosecution witnesses may be undermined by the likelihood that they’ll be convicted felons. But we appreciate the extra effort the attorney general made to nail down an indictment in this case. Not only does it clearly seem to have been warranted, it should help the city put this latest embarrassing chapter in its police department’s history behind it.
I just hope we don't hear the words....PLEA BARGIN!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY Jail inmate files suit over beating County, sheriff, officer accused of negligence in attack BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net
The Schenectady County Jail inmate attacked by four other inmates last year has filed suit against the county seeking damages. Zechariah A. Fay is alleging the county, sheriff and the corrections officer that lost his job in the incident, all were negligent in allowing the attack to take place “Defendants were negligent in, among other things, the monitoring and supervision of inmates at the Schenectady County Jail, allowing the inmates to attack [Fay] and then failing to timely intervene to stop the attack,” the suit reads in part. The suit was filed late last week in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County. They are seeking unspecified damages. Earlier this month, the fourth and final inmate accused in the attack admitted to the crime. Nicholas Price, 19, pleaded guilty in Schenectady County Court to one count of second-degree assault, a felony. Price admitted that he helped assault Fay Aug. 15, 2007, at the jail. Three others charged in the attack, Jullian Vanness, Nicholas Price, and Nicholas Coons, have already pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident, prosecutors said. The four inmates were accused of repeatedly assaulting Fay over a period of nearly 40 minutes on the second floor of the jail. Vanness and Price were under discipline for misbehaving in the correctional facility and were supposed to be locked in their cells 23 hours per day, with one hour set aside for recreation. Fay was using the jail’s phone when Price allegedly punched him in the face at 10:07 a.m., according to a report released earlier. Vanness, Snipes and Coons also allegedly punched Fay at this time. The attacks continued until 10:45 a.m. In the wake of the attack, corrections officer David Teller resigned. He had faced administrative charges. Teller, who earned approximately $45,700, was accused of failing to place two inmates under disciplinary treatment immediately inside their cells prior to the alleged assault, according to the report. Under questioning, Teller said he “forgot to lock them up,” according to the report. Teller, the county, sheriffs office and Sheriff Harry Buffardi are named as defendants. Attorneys for Fay and the county could not be reached for comment. Buffardi noted Friday the suit had been expected. “We were anticipating getting it,” he said. “We had a problem. We had a personnel issue and we dealt with it. Now we’ll have to deal with the lawsuit.”
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Former chief is indicted: Saints alive! Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
Quite the stunner, ladies and gentlemen: Greg Kaczmarek, former police chief of the city of Schenectady indicted as a drug dealer and arraigned in Schenectady County Court — coincidentally with another retired chief, Dick O’Connor, standing by as security officer. I never thought I’d see it, but there it was. My old friend Greg with whom I had an amiable relationship during the six years (1996-2002) that he was chief, and his personable third wife, Lisa, standing grim-faced before the bench and being read their rights, first Lisa then Greg. Lisa answering in a soft voice, Greg in a firm one: “Not guilty.” Charges? Dealing cocaine dealing marijuana, conspiracy to do same. Six counts in all. Maximum sentence for the top charge: 8 1 /3 to 25 years. Oh me, oh my. Lisa had already been indicted back in May, along with 23 other people, including her 20-year-old son, on one count, and we all wondered back then why the attorney general’s task force didn’t rope in Greg at the same time. On transcripts of bugged telephone conversations with Lisa’s alleged supplier, Greg’s voice appeared in the background as a kibitzer, at one point saying, apparently with reference to a cocaine shipment, “It’s my birthday present.” I couldn’t understand why, if they were that close to him, they let him go and ended their operation by arresting the others. There is still no answer to that question. The lawyer from the attorney general’s office in court on Thursday to handle the case, Michael Sharpe, said afterwards that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would hold a press conference to answer all questions, but alas, Cuomo held no such conference, and his press office will say nothing beyond what’s in the court papers and in a standard-issue press release. So I don’t know what happened during the past four months to ensnare Greg. But now he is in deep, deep trouble, and so is Lisa, though I wouldn’t necessarily bet on the conspiracy charges holding up under a vigorous examination by an aggressive lawyer, since as far as I can make out from the indictment they are based entirely on bugged telephone conversations that are not at all explicit but instead are “coded and cryptic,” in the words of the indictment. That means the voices on the tapes are not overtly talking about cocaine or any other drugs, nor about buying and selling, but about innocuous matters so that an uncoached listener would have no way of knowing the subject. A prosecutor can put the pieces together and say here’s what’s going on, but a good defense lawyer might well take those pieces apart and say nothing is going on. If the case goes to trial, I will look forward to that give and take. Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how good old Greg Kaczmarek rose to be chief in the first place, I remind you that he was a protégé of former Mayor Frank Duci, even though it was Al Jurczynski who finally appointed him. Kaczmarek was a lowly sergeant back in 1991 when he made the prescient decision to support Duci in Duci’s campaign for mayor against the Conservative Party candidate, Mike Andriano, who had just retired as a police officer and might have seemed to have a better claim on a fellow cop’s civic energy. Kaczmarek planted lawn signs for Duci, and when Duci won the election and became mayor (for the umpteenth time), he knew how to reward a friend: He made Kaczmarek assistant chief. Just like that! Then the next thing you knew, Chief Richard Nelson announced his retirement, and it was pretty clear that Duci was ready to ap- point good old Greg to the top job if only he could satisfy Civil Service requirements. I won’t bore you with the details, but the City Council, including Republican member Al Jurczynski, was so appalled at the prospect that they actually abolished the chief’s job — just to prevent Kaczmarek from getting it — and there ensued a long legal fight, including a referendum which Duci succeeded in negating. The chief’s job was restored, but then, by way of anticlimax, Kaczmarek came up short in the required Civil Service test, and Duci wound up appointing somebody else (Mike Moffett). Soon enough Duci finished his term, Jurczynski took over, and Chief Moffett also announced his retirement, in a pique over pay, leaving Jurczynski to appoint a new chief from the top three on a Civil Service list, one of whom was now Kaczmarek, who had moved up. It was not a distinguished threesome, and Jurczynski settled on Kaczmarek after carefully considering rumors that he had a history of cocaine use while a cop. (Part of that consideration consisted of getting Kaczmarek to subject himself to an interview with the journalist here at your service, to whom Kaczmarek asserted without blinking that he had never messed with any illegal drugs, cross his heart and hope to die.) So, anyway, it was Jurczynski who made him chief, but Duci who sponsored him and promoted him up through the ranks as a reward for support in the 1991 mayor’s race. Whether he was involved with drugs during his tenure as chief, I have no way of knowing. I do note that his career ended less than honorably. When the Police Department came under pressure because of the criminal behavior of some its members, Kaczmarek absented himself from his job on the excuse of a bad back — a bad back that did not, however, prevent him from competing in golf tournaments — and the department was left to itself. The city’s lawyers negotiated his departure with a package that included full pay for the months he was AWOL, and he rode off not into any sunset but, it now appears, into Schenectady’s underworld. Saints preserve us all. WORD WATCH From the grand jury’s indictment of the Kaczmareks we have the statement that their alleged supplier at one point “suspected bad whether was delaying the shipment,” which goes into the Homonym Hopper. And from the attorney general’s press release we have the allegation that Greg was “intricately involved in a narcotics ring,” which is not absolutely impossible, but I believe “integrally” was intended. You hear that a lot, “intricate” for “integral.” It goes in Mrs. Malaprop’s Basket.
SCHENECTADY Fate of two cops awaits outcome of internal probe Pair in force case may return to duty BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Two city police officers cleared of criminal charges related to allegations of excessive force will have to wait a little longer to learn if they can return to duty, Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said. Meanwhile, the cost of keeping those two, and three others, on leave with pay since the allegations were made in December is nearing $200,000, according to city records. That’s not counting overtime and other costs associated with filling their shifts. With the conclusion of grand jury proceedings in the case last month, the department has begun its internal inquiry into the Dec. 7, 2007, incident on Union Street, after which a DWI suspect alleged excessive force by police. The grand jury indicted three of the officers on lesser charges of official misconduct related to their alleged failure to follow procedures. The internal inquiry is now taking statements from the five offi - cers. Two have already been taken. The other three are expected to be taken by the end of next week. The internal probe had been on hold pending the grand jury’s report. “At some point, when they’re completed, a decision will be made on those two and whether they’ll be brought back to duty status,” Bennett said, noting that he did not expect that to happen until at least the end of next week. Officials had originally pegged that decision for the week after the Sept. 5 indictments. Officers Daryl Mallard and Kevin Derkowski remain on leave with pay, as they have been since late December. They were not indicted by the grand jury. The grand jury did indict offi cers Eric Reyell, 29, Gregory Hafensteiner, 30, and Andrew Karaskiewicz, 38. They each face an offi cial misconduct charge because they allegedly failed to fill out use of force forms related to the incident. Reyell is also accused of failing to have his vehicle camera on. All five were cleared of criminal allegations that they beat suspect Donald Randolph. Immediately after the indict- ments, Reyell, Hafensteiner and Karaskiewicz were suspended without pay for 30 days. That would expire next week, with their returning to the payroll but not to duty. City payroll figures show that the five officers have together been paid more than $190,000 to stay home. Bennett said previously that the paid leave is necessary. He said he could see situations where the city could be sued if the officers were brought back early. If something else happened and wrongdoing was later found in the original case, the city could be liable, he said. The statements are a required step of the internal investigation and officers must submit to them, Bennett said. However, he said, he hasn’t encountered any resistance. The statements cannot be used in the criminal case. Police union president Lt. Robert Hamilton also said he didn’t anticipate any difficulty. “The fi ve officers are eager to tell their side of the story,” Hamilton said, “as they’ve said since day one. They’ve never been asked to tell their side of the story.” Hamilton said he believed two officers testified before the grand jury. He didn’t know which ones. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity for a full discussion on what happened that evening,” Hamilton said.
VIEWPOINT Tarnished symbol Kaczmarek case damages public trust, diminishes respect for the law BY HANK FOX For The Sunday Gazette
Ifelt a moment of indecent glee at reading about the indictment of former Police Chief Greg Kaczmarek. Not because I’m thrilled with our drug laws. In my view, the U.S. justice system suffers from an excess of stupidity and meanness when it comes to drugs. But because the arrest reinforced my own ideal — the American ideal — of equality. There was a time, not that long ago, when justice meant different things for different people. Royalty got one kind of justice — a justice that let them get away with just about anything — while the average peasant got the kind that found them guilty of just about everything, with no hope of freedom or innocence. The idea of royalty is in our genes, I think. Being an animal with a natural hierarchy, it’s built into us commoners to bow and bend, smile nervously and pay wide-eyed attention anytime we feel we’re in the presence of one of the “big” people. Somewhere along the way, though, we upstart peasants got the idea that we should all be equal — either everybody should get princely treatment, or nobody should. And so here we are today, with Greg Kaczmarek — former chief of police, a sort of prince of the Schenectady justice system — arrested and indicted, charged with dealing and using drugs. To a lot of people, it’s especially delightful to see a cop arrested. It’s not that we don’t like the police, it’s that we DO like to believe we’re all equal and nobody is above the law. But it’s also especially disturbing. Plenty of people might snort coke in their spare time, but you don’t expect a former police officer — especially the Top Cop — to be one of them. DISTURBING ASPECT Think about it for a moment. Here’s a man who accepted the honorable duty of enforcing the law, a man trusted to help clean up, so to speak, and now it appears that he was himself sweeping the dirt into Schenectady. Yeah, I realize my opinion hinges on whether or not Kaczmarek is guilty. But given a belief in honest and diligent police officers, and barring some sort of personal grudge or a really boneheaded mistake, we have to assume he was arrested for some good reason, and look forward to a trial to reveal the facts of it. Most disturbing of all is the fact that injustice creates echoes. The guy who bops your granny on the head and steals her money at the ATM isn’t just performing an isolated act. No, he’s threatening elderly women everywhere. Threatening all women. Threatening all of us who use ATMs, all of us who carry around money, all of us smaller and weaker than the next club-carrying thug to come along. Likewise, it isn’t an isolated private act if the chief of police (even if “former”) uses and sells cocaine and marijuana. Somewhere along the way, he’s attacked the very idea of trust between police officers and the people of the city they serve. Suddenly, every process of justice that grows out of that trust is injured. ECHOS PERSIST Every person ever arrested in Schenectady for drug use or drug dealing now seems, by contrast, somehow less guilty. Every local kid who attends a DARE program now has this new role model to fit into his head — the chief of police who laughs at everything DARE stands for. Every Schenectady parent who ever lectured their kids about drugs has been undermined. “Oh, mom, don’t get so excited. Even the chief of police does it.” Every police officer in Schenectady is dirtied. The uniform and badge simply mean less, now, and it will take the department even longer to climb back into respectability and trust. Prosecutors and judges occasionally decide that some people must serve as examples to the rest of us. Some crimes are so injurious to civil society that the people who do them have to be treated especially harshly. Surely this is one such case. If the chief of police can get away with using and dealing drugs, why should any of us bother to obey drug laws, or any law, ever again? Worse, if extra trust and power don’t come with extra responsibility and accountability, there’s no such thing as equality and we’re back to being peasants and princes. It would be nice to find out that Greg Kaczmarek really is innocent. But if he’s guilty, it would be equally nice to see him sent away for decades, and not to some safe country club prison, but to the same type of hellhole where all the less princely drug dealers go. It would help restore the balance, the trust, that he himself may have destroyed.
There better be a giant bonfire with this and then a few smaller ones to follow up.......The golden calf was melted down and those who participated all had to drink the heavy metal......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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