Key police detective to retire

09/05/2007

William Kaempffer , Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The head of the Police Department’s crime scene unit has submitted paperwork to retire after 18 years on the job, the latest in a series of departures of current and former members of the detective bureau over the last six months. Andrew Muro, 40, most recently was in charge of the department’s Bureau of Investigation, the unit that processes crime scenes and collects evidence.

Before that, he ran the department’s main detective bureau, the Investigative Services Division.

Muro, who has been out of work injured for the last month, turned in his retirement papers Tuesday. James Kottage, a city fire lieutenant who also serves as chairman of the Police and Fireman’s Pension Board, confirmed Muro’s application would be added to the agenda for Thursday’s monthly meeting.

Muro could not be reached for comment, and city officials did not return calls with estimates of his annual pension.

Although Muro doesn’t have the required 20 years of service for retirement, a contract provision allows employees to trade in accumulated unused sick time for up to five years of pension time, meaning Muro’s benefits will be based on 23 years of service.

As a detective and sergeant, Muro for years worked on a New Haven-based Drug Enforcement Administration task force. In 2003, he was named the second-in-command of the detective bureau and took over when Herman Badger, who had held the top post, was appointed assistant police chief in July 2006.

Muro was in charge of the bureau when the FBI raided police headquarters in March and arrested two members of its narcotics enforcement unit for allegedly stealing what they believed to be drug money. It was actually an undercover sting and the money was planted by the FBI.

Federal charges are pending against former Lt. William "Billy" White, 63, and former Detective Justen Kasperzyk, 34. White also was charged with taking bribes from bail bondsmen in exchange to tracking down bail jumpers.

Muro has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Three weeks after the raid, Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. transferred Muro to the crime scene unit, although he stressed at the time that the transfer was not punitive, and installed two new bosses in the bureau.

In the aftermath of the raid, two sergeants assigned to the bureau retired, and a third sergeant who had worked under White as a detective also retired on a disability.

The federal corruption probe is ongoing and police for months have been testifying before a federal grand jury.