SCHENECTADY Lawyer claims sentence disparity Kaczmareks got less time behind bars than fellow drug suspect BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
The accused manager in a Schenectady-based drug operation moved Tuesday to have her sentence reduced, arguing through her attorney that co-defendants Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek got unfairly lighter sentences compared to hers. Brian Toal, attorney for Hazel Nader, asked Schenectady County Court Judge Karen Drago to sentence his client to six months in jail, the same sentence given to Lisa Kaczmarek, wife of the former police chief. If the judge didn’t agree, Toal asked that she recuse herself because she was the one who agreed to the Kaczmareks’ sentences in the first place. In his motion to the court, Toal sites the indictment handed up against Lisa Kaczmarek, arguing that she was involved “at the highest level of drug dealing” in Schenectady and sought to take advantage of her husband’s connections. Despite that, she is getting only a six-month sentence, Toal argued. The sentence, compared to Nader’s four years, “is embarrassing,” Toal wrote. “That sentence is another blow to public confidence in the criminal justice system in the city of Schenectady,” Toal wrote. “The public perception is that the Kaczmareks are only receiving these lenient sentences due to their connections.” Nader, 42, formerly of University Place, pleaded guilty in July to third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony, accepting a sentence of four years in state prison. However, Toal argued, that was before the Kaczmareks accepted their own offers for their involvement. Greg Kaczmarek, the former police chief, pleaded guilty last month to a felony drug possession count, agreeing to two years in prison. Lisa Kaczmarek accepted a six-month term, admitting to attempted drug possession. Nader and the Kaczmareks were among the two dozen indicted last year in the operation headed by Oscar Mora and Kerry Kirkem. Kirkem was sentenced Monday to 12 years in state prison. Sentenced Tuesday was Miles Smith, Lisa Kaczmarek’s son and the former chief’s stepson. Smith has been portrayed this week in court as almost a sympathetic figure taken in by Kirkem, who took the role of a father fi gure. Smith pleaded guilty earlier to a drug sale count in exchange for a three-year sentence. Assistant Attorney General Michael Sharpe repeated that Tuesday, saying that Kirkem provided Smith sneakers and other items in exchange for committing felonies. Smith’s sentence is eligible for a reduced six-month shock incarceration, officials said. Toal’s effort for a reduced sentence is not unique. Other defendants have argued for lesser sentences, comparing their involvement to others. Misty Gallo, through her attorneys, unsuccessfully asked several times for Drago to lessen her five-year sentence. Toal argued in his motion that Nader and other defendants saw initial plea offers rejected by Drago because they weren’t harsh enough. Nader was originally offered 3 1 /2 years. Drago said she would accept nothing less than five years, finally accepting four. Toal’s effort, however, won his client a two-week adjournment wile Drago considered his arguments. Nader is to return to court next month. Authorities alleged that Nader was a manager in the drug distribution ring, ensuring that the operation ran efficiently. She helped organize work schedules and made sure workers turned in the correct amount of money. Sharpe, who prosecuted the cases, repeated many those accusations in court Tuesday, saying that Nader freely admitted to them in a pre-sentence investigation. Sharpe argued that comparing indictments is not valid. Many of the organizations’s sellers could have been indicted on dozens of individual sales but weren’t for brevity’s sake. Evidence at a Lisa and Greg Kaczmarek trial, Sharpe said, would have been that they purchased two “8-balls” of cocaine, consuming one for their personal use and selling the other to friends or co-workers. The Kaczmareks’ involvement in the operation paled in comparison to that of Nader’s, Sharpe argued. Nader managed the operation, deciding on schedules, deciding who got the best “shifts,” collected the proceeds and paid the sellers. She also ..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00901
SCHENECTADY Officer out sick 62 days last year BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
The suspended city police youth aid detective, whom sources have said is being investigated for possible prescription drug abuse, was out sick for 62 days in 2008, city records show. Sherri Barnes, who has been on the force for more than 20 years, logged only four work days in the first 12 weeks of 2008, taking 55 of her sick days in that stretch. Six others were taken in late October, the last one in December. Barnes was suspended with pay Jan. 17 and she remains out. Sources have said she is suspected of illegally obtaining prescription drugs for personal use. She is not suspected of forging prescriptions, but obtaining them by other means, sources said. Barnes, a detective in the department’s youth aid bureau, has not been charged with a crime. She was hired in October 1984. Since 2004, the 2008 figures were only Barnes’ third-highest sick day total. She tallied 102 in 2005 and, in 2004 she was out sick nearly the entire year, logging 245 sick days. By Jan. 9 of this year, she had already logged seven sick days, records show. The sick leave data was included in Barnes’ attendance records released by the city this week after a Freedom of Information Law request from The Daily Gazette. The records include accountings for each day off taken since 2004, noting reasons for each. The records mark vacation time taken, personal leave, sick time and workers’ compensation time and others. For each day, including sick days, no further explanation is given. Asked about the sick leave this week, Barnes’ attorney, Paul DerOhannesian, declined to elaborate. He did, however, note departmental policies requiring review of sick leave. “The department has the opportunity to review each and every one of the sick days,” he said. “If there was any problem at any time, period, they would have looked into it.” He said he is aware of no issue regarding Barnes’ sick leave. Barnes is among a number of officers hired before 1995 whose sick time is unlimited. A 2007 tally put the number then at about 70 offi - cers. Schenectady Police Chief Mark Chaires Wednesday again declined to comment on Barnes’ case, other than to say they’re trying to “fast track” the investigation. Regarding the sick time issue, Chaires said all pre-1995 officers are required to submit medical certification of their sickness after a fourth day out. For extended illnesses, they’re sent out for certification. Asked if that was done in Barnes’ case, Chaires said he had no reason to suspect it wasn’t. An analysis by the Gazette based on 2006 figures found officers with unlimited sick time average more sick days than their counterparts, 14.4 sick days to 10.3 sick days for officers hired after 1995. In calculating the sick time averages, officers who were out more than half the year for workers’ compensation or other causes were excluded. One detective and two officers were out on workers’ compensation the entire year, with another officer out for nearly a year. If everyone..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00902
Kaczmarek sentenced to two years in prison Wife serving 6 months for couple's 'lower echelon' roles in cocaine, heroin operation
By PAUL NELSON Last updated: 12:17 p.m., Monday, February 2, 2009
SCHENECTADY — Disgraced ex-Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek was sentenced to two years in prison today and his wife was sentenced to six months in jail for their role in a large-scaled drug ring that pumped cocaine and heroin into the city streets that the chief once swore to protect.
Kaczmarek apologized to the court and law enforcement and defended the former mayor, Al Jurczynski. who promoted him to chief 12 years ago despite rumors that Kaczmarek had used drugs.
"Any criticism of him or current law enforcement is not fair," Kaczmarek said. "It is my fault, my responsibility." The ex-chief pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
As Lisa Kaczmarek apologized in court, her voice trailed off and she cried. She began serving her sentence last month after surrendering early to the authorities on her plea to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. The sentence includes five years of post-release supervision.
Greg Kaczmarek's sentence, which includes a year of post-release supervision, came exactly one year after prosecutors say he consorted with a known drug dealer who was his cocaine supplier.
Assistant state Attorney General Michael Sharpe said Gregory Kaczmarek on two occasions, Feb. 2 and 6, 2008, ordered two "eight balls of cocaine" in front of a local video rental store. Sharpe said the Kaczmareks used some of the cocaine and sold some of it.
He and and his wife faced charges that could have landed them behind bars for a long time for their role in the drug distribution ring headed by Kerry "Slim" Kirkem. Kirkem pleaded guilty to running the enterprise that funneled the drugs heroin and cocaine from Long Island and Manhattan to Schenectady.
Judge Karen Drago expressed disappointment that the former chief was in court for his crime. She said his sentence was appropriate because Kaczmarek did not accept money from the criminal ring and had no prior criminal record.
"The position of police chief doesn't in itself warrant a harsher sentence," she said.
Assistant Attorney General Michael Sharpe said the Kaczmareks "fall into the lower echelon of the organization."
When Kaczmarek pleaded guilty Dec. 2, he agreed to give up his police badge, any weapons he has and his nursing license, but will get to keep his pension.
Kaczmarek's attorney, Thomas O'Hern, had said his client essentially took the deal to spare his wife a prison term.
Sharpe countered that, saying he believed Kaczmarek accepted the plea deal "in light of evidence against him and his own best self-interest."
The 13-month state attorney general-led probe, dubbed "Operation Slim Chance," initially ensnared Lisa Kaczmarek and her son Miles Smith along with 22 others in May, and Gregory Kaczmarek in September. State investigators amassed hours of..................http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=766051
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
KAZ TO THE CAN
I note the comments from readers that former Schenectady Police Chief Greg Kaczmarek and his wife, Lisa, got a sweet deal following their guilty pleas to drug dealing — two years for him, six months for her. We don’t know all the facts, since the cases didn’t go to trial, but I’m prepared to accept the word of the assistant attorney general prosecuting the case that they were low-level players, probably not much more than users selling to friends. Pretty far down the food chain. Two years for Greg sounds fair enough to me. Six months for Lisa (which translates to four months), in a county jail as opposed to a state prison, sounds easy. I believe Greg’s lawyer that it was the “family plan” — a soft sentence for her as an inducement for Greg to plead guilty. He was the bigger catch.
Probe hits blue wall Police officers decline interview with Albany internal affairs in drunken-driving case
By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer First published in print: Wednesday, February 4, 2009
ALBANY — Two officers from Schenectady and Bethlehem recently declined to be interviewed by internal affairs detectives for the Albany Police Department in connection with the controversial drunk driving arrest last month of an Albany detective.
Bethlehem police Officer Kenneth G. Beck instead answered questions through a supervisor in his own department, while Schenectady Detective John P. Maloney, who is considered a key witness in the case, declined to answer questions about the incident, according to two police officials familiar with the case. The officials spoke to the Times Union on the condition they not be identified because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Schenectady police Commissioner Wayne Bennett said he is in discussions with Albany police Chief James W. Tuffey.
''Our position here on any of our officers is if they are not the target of a criminal investigation and they witnessed criminal behavior they have a professional obligation to cooperate with whoever is investigating the matter,'' Bennett said. He added that a subpoena or a direct order from a police supervisor are legally sufficient to compel an officer's cooperation, or the officer could face discipline.
Reached Wednesday, Maloney said he had ''no comment about the whole thing. ...I'm trying to stay as clear away from it as I can.''
Bethlehem police Chief Louis Corsi confirmed his officer did not want to be interviewed by Albany's internal affairs detectives, but that he had cooperated fully through a supervisor who then conveyed the information to Albany police.
''The truth of the matter is my officers don't answer to Albany P.D. they answer to me,'' Corsi said. ''We shared everything that we found with Albany. (Beck) had gone through everything with us. I imagine a young officer did not want to go down there and be interrogated.''
Corsi added that his department had conducted an internal investigation that found no wrongdoing by anyone on their force, and that Beck had met with Albany County prosecutors on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing investigation related to Albany Detective George McNally, who was arrested on Jan. 11 on charges of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash.
Bethlehem Lt. Thomas Hefferan said he served as a conduit between Beck and Albany's internal affairs.
''They told me all of their questions. I asked him and he answered everything,'' Heffernan said. ''They were completely satisifed and said that's what they needed from him. He wasn't uncooperative.''
Court and police dispatch records allege McNally was involved in an alcohol-fueled hit-and-run crash that wended from Albany into Bethlehem that Sunday evening.
Maloney, who was off-duty and driving a Grand Cherokee, began pursuing McNally after he spotted his red pick-up truck hit a parked car on New Scotland Avenue. Maloney did not know he was following a fellow officer. Dispatch records obtained by the Times Union indicate Maloney used his cellphone to contact a dispatcher from Albany and his words were tape recorded as......................http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=766636&category=YTSCHENECTADY
The officer should be treated just like any other citizen the blue wall of silence must come down in matters involving a felony, drunken driving, hit and run, and extremely poor judgement which would be cause for any citizen to have his pistol permit revolked.
SCHENECTADY 3 officers out since 2007 to return soon 2 others tied to excessive force case still on leave BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Three officers out on paid leave for more than a year are expected to finally return to work Sunday, Schenectady police officials said. The two others caught up in the controversial December 2007 drunken-driving arrest of Donald Randolph will remain on leave for the near future, Schenectady Police Chief Mark Chaires said. Officers Daryl Mallard, Kevin Derkowski and Eric Reyell will be returning, while officers Gregory Hafensteiner and Andrew Karaskiewicz will remain on leave, the chief said. Officials signed paperwork Thursday paving the way for the return of the three officers, police union president Lt. Robert Hamilton confirmed. Chaires declined to say what has prompted the return of the three officers now other than to say that the internal investigation with regard to them has concluded. Asked to comment further on the fate of Hafensteiner and Karaskiewicz and whether either would be invited back, Chaires said, “I can’t say they will and I can’t say they won’t.” All five have been on paid leave since late December 2007. The leave cost the city just less than $330,000 last year, paying all fi ve to stay home, according to numbers released under a Freedom of Information Law request. That amount does not include overtime paid to others to fill their empty shifts. They were placed on paid leave after allegations that one or more officers used excessive force on Randolph as they arrested him on a drunken-driving charge. The drunken-driving charge later fell apart. The officer making the initial arrest was identified as Karaskiewicz. His role has been criticized by Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney, who said the offi cer acted with scant information. Karaskiewicz, Carney said in May, never did sobriety tests and never even saw Randolph driving. Instead, Karaskiewicz noted that Randolph had glassy eyes and there was an odor of alcohol, Carney said. Karaskiewicz first spotted Randolph outside the vehicle, which was parked in the Union Street McDonald’s drive-through early on Dec. 7, 2007. Randolph was placed in the police car and transferred to a prisoner transport vehicle six blocks away. That vehicle was driven by Mallard. The three other officers arrived separately in patrol cars, partners Eric Reyell and Kevin Derkowski in one car and.......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00904
on paid leave....what do we all think will happen when the national healthcare system is in full swing and MD's and nurses and the like have their own 'public work union'????? Really.......
...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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