Schenectady officer suspended in bar fight Darren Lawrence is on unpaid leave after alleged altercation
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published in print: Thursday, November 27, 2008
SCHENECTADY — A city police officer with a pending criminal matter has been suspended without pay for allegedly punching a man during an argument at a nightspot and then fighting with fellow cops who responded, according to several people familiar with the incident.
Officer Darren Lawrence does not face any criminal charges related to the Oct. 25 squabble at Manhattan Exchange, but it could compound his problems. It is another setback to a department struggling to restore its image and the public's confidence.
Lawrence, who city records show joined the Schenectady Police Department in January 2001, was off duty at the time.
Sources say the patrolman began arguing with a patron at the popular downtown Union Street hangout, threw the first punch and hurled racial slurs at the man. Lawrence suffered a cut to the head.
When patrol officers arrived and tried to restore order, Lawrence also quarrelled and got into a physical struggle with at least one of them before being driven home by an officer, according to sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on personnel matters.
Lawrence did not return a call to his home Wednesday afternoon seeking comment, and neither did police brass.
This is not the first time Lawrence has been in trouble. In October 2006, while off duty, he was arrested after he lost control of his car, sending it flipping into a ditch near Watervliet Shaker Road in Colonie.
I see a pattern here! Now we will see what the new police chief will do with this case.
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
Ex-Chief Kaczmarek, wife expected to plead guilty to drug charges Once Schenectady's top cop, Kaczmarek faces prison
By PAUL NELSON AND BRENDAN J. LYONS, Staff writers
Last updated: 5:21 p.m., Friday, November 28, 2008
SCHENECTADY Ex-Schenectady Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek and his wife, Lisa, are expected to admit their roles in a drug ring that supplied Schenectady streets with cocaine and heroin, according to several people familiar with the terms of their plea-bargain negotiations . Kaczmarek, who in 1996 was named chief despite rampant rumors of drug use, and his wife have approved the plea agreement and are scheduled to formally enter pleas during a Tuesday morning appearance in Schenectady County Court, those familiar with the deal said.
It is the same courthouse where the Kaczmareks were arraigned earlier this year on conspiracy and drug possession charges that stem from a state investigation into a cocaine and heroin distribution ring that stretched from Long Island to Schenectady.
The Kaczmareks' deals call for them to both plead guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, according to those familiar with the deal.
Kaczmarek will serve two years in state prison, a year of supervised release once he's out and the loss of his nurse's license.
Lisa Kaczmarek's deal calls for a six-month sentence in county jail and five years' probation.
Kaczmarek, 56, and his 48-year-old wife, could have faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted at trial of the top count in the indictment, conspiracy.
Instead with time off for good behavior, Kaczmarek could be out in 16 months and his wife could be released in just four months..................................................http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=744686
And yet another plea deal!!! Sounds like it was a good thing these two had friends in high places, huh? Let's hear them explain this one to the slug, drug dealer serving a 25 year sentence for the same crime!
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 Former police chief to accept prison sentence, sources say Kaczmareks to appear in county court for plea deals
BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Years of denials could come to an end this morning when former Schenectady police chief Greg Kaczmarek is expected to accept two years in state prison in exchange for a guilty plea related to the drug case against him, sources have confirmed. His wife Lisa Kaczmarek is also expected to take a deal, accepting six months in jail in return for her own plea. Both are scheduled to be in Schenectady County Court before Judge Karen Drago at 11 a.m. today. The official court calender has both on for possible pleas. Both plea deals would follow offers accepted by 21 others in the case. The deals have generally ranged from time served to just over five years. The two leaders of the drug ring, Kerry Kirkem and Oscar Mora, received deals of 12 and 20 years in state prison, respectively. Kirkem pleaded to a top drug possession count, accused of setting up deals and shipments and keeping workers in line. Mora got 20 years, increased by a federal weapons case. Five others who have admitted varying degrees of involvement are to appear in court this afternoon for sentencing, including Hazel Nader, who authorities said was a manager in the central operation of the ring. She is to get four years. 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 after a federal investigation. 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. The outcome of this morning’s appearance by the Kaczmareks would see Greg Kaczmarek, indicted in September after the others, get more time than his wife, who was indicted four months earlier. Both now face indictments on six separate counts of conspiracy and drug possession. And while neither one was an initial target, both were accused of using Kirkem as their source for drugs. Both are also accused of roles in a central drama to the investigation. It was inside the Central Avenue topless bar DiCarlo’s that prosecutors alleged Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek met with Kirkem to decide on a response to the apparent police seizure of drugs. Early court filings had Lisa Kaczmarek as the one on wire taps calling Kirkem, asking for drugs and referencing her business. On one call, Greg Kaczmarek was allegedly heard in the background boasting the drugs were to celebrate his coming birthday. But the first round of indictments came and went in May with only his wife and his stepson, Miles Smith, facing indictments. Miles Smith has already admitted to a charge related to the conspiracy. Prosecutors apparently felt they had enough to indict them, but only enough to mention the former chief by name. It was in papers filed in July that prosecutors alleged Lisa Kaczmarek took a call from Kirkem. An estimated $150,000 in drugs had been taken from drug mule Misty Gallo and police involvement was suspected. It was that night, Greg’s birthday, that the three met at DiCarlo’s. And it was Greg Kaczmarek allegedly telling 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 ......................................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00102
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
From top cop to criminal; Kaczmarek admits drug charge
By PAUL NELSON and CHRISTEN GOWAN, Staff writers Last updated: 12:33 p.m., Tuesday, December 2, 2008
SCHENECTADY -- Gregory T. Kaczmarek once swore to protect this city from criminals. This morning, the 56-year-old ex-police chief admitted he was one of them.
In a dramatic fall from grace, Kaczmarek pleaded to drug possession and acknowleded he was part of a sprawling cocaine and heroin ring. He will serve prison for his role and must surrender all police badges.
On his way into the Schenectady County courthouse with his co-defendant wife, Kaczmarek apologized for involvement in an operation that put cocaine and heroin on the street and put police at risk.
"I'd like to apologize to anyone who has been affected by our actions, especially law enforcement," he said.
"If my actions have made their jobs more difficult, I truly and sincerely apologize."
Kaczmarek, who in 1996 became chief after publicly denying rumors of drug use, pleaded guilty to cocaine possession, putting a coda on a State Police investigation that included nearly two dozen other people tied to a drug ring that shipped narcotics from Long Island to Schenectady.
Kaczmarek's wife, Lisa, pleaded guilty to a attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. She is expected to serve six months in local jail.
The couple appeared in Schenectady County Court this morning to accept a plea bargain offer from the attorney general's office that caps Kaczmarek's prison sentence at two years. His likely plea and the details of the deal were exclusively reported last week by the Times Union.
The Kaczmareks were targets of state investigators who compiled hours of secretly recorded telephone conversations to smash the narcotics operation.
In one conversation, Lisa Kaczmarek can be heard pleading for a shipment of cocaine with another drug dealer. The reason she needed the drugs? It was a present for her husband's upcoming birthday.
In another recorded call, she suggested the ex-chief could transport cocaine for the ring and would "flash his badge" if there was trouble.
Kaczmarek and his 48-year-old wife were arrested earlier this year on drug possession and conspiracy charges after state investigators said they were part of a major drug ring run by Kerry "Slim" Kirkem, who already has admitted to drug charges.
The Kaczmareks could have faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted at trial of the top count in the indictment, conspiracy. Instead, with time off for good behavior, Kaczmarek could be out in 16 months and his wife could be released in four months.
Prosecutors alleged the Kaczmareks met with Kirkem in a Colonie strip club on Feb. 20 after discovering that State Police seized a shipment of drugs from one of the ring's "mules."........................................http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=745897
Lawyer: Kaczmarek took plea to spare wife from prison
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer Last updated: 12:51 p.m., Tuesday, December 2, 2008
SCHENECTADY Ex-Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek accepted a plea-bargain offer that will mean time in state prison so that his wife would get a lesser sentence, according to his attorney.
Thomas O'Hern said the Attorney General's case against Kaczmarek was "more defensible" than the case against Lisa Kaczmarek, but he went forward with his guilty plea to drug possession because "this was a family deal."
In return, Lisa Kaczmarek was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of attempted drug possession and will only serve six months in local jail.
I wonder how Detective Jeffrey Curtis who stole drug evidence, admitted to drug use and is serving a 4 year sentence feels about this!
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
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