By John Nickerson
Staff Writer
The Advocate Article Launched: 10/25/2008 03:05:44 AM EDT
STAMFORD - Attorneys for former police Lt. Thomas Cummings filed a motion at state Superior Court in Stamford Friday to dismiss state charges alleging that he had sex with two 15-year-old boys and tried to lure a third to his Dreamy Hollow condominium.
This motion was among three in Cummings' court file asking that his defense team receive more details about the state's allegations against the former 24-year police department veteran, along with evidence the state has gathered in its investigation.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney Richard Colangelo, who is prosecuting the case at state Superior Court in Stamford, declined to comment on the motions Friday, saying that he had not yet had a chance to review them.
Last January, in what Police Chief Harry Rilling called the biggest scandal at the police department, Cummings, 47, of 41 Wolfpit Ave., Norwalk, was charged with three counts of enticing a minor, two counts of second-degree sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a minor. Cummings, who remains free on $75,000 bond, faces a maximum 115 years in prison.
Cummings has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In his motion to dismiss charges, attorney Robert Frost said that two inspectors who helped develop the case against Cummings had a conflict of interest.
Frost said during August 2007, Cummings, who headed the Detective Bureau at the time, was assisting in an investigation of Inspector Gary Mecozzi, a former Norwalk police sergeant. Mecozzi's interviews of at least one alleged victim led to Cumming's arrest.
Frost said during that August, Mecozzi was being investigated by police for tampering with evidence in another investigation.
That investigation centered on Brandon Rizzi, whose body was found on the railroad tracks in December 2005.
The motion did not mention why Mecozzi, who was working for Stamford private investigator Vito Colucci at the time, was supposedly under police investigation.
Rilling on Friday said that there was no investigation of Mecozzi. Rilling said a review was made at the time to determine whether some evidence was properly handled by Mecozzi.
"It showed there was no inappropriate behavior," Rilling said.
Mecozzi did not return a call seeking comment.
The motion also said Inspector Philip O'Grady, who also interviewed at least one alleged victim, disliked Cummings because he is homosexual.
O'Grady, also a former Norwalk police officer, made "inflammatory, homophobic" statements about the detective bureau being headed by a homosexual, the motion said.
In a June statement, former Norwalk police Capt. John Suchy, said he and O'Grady were talking in 2006 about cases coming to the state's attorney's office from Norwalk police.
Suchy, now director of the state's Liquor Control Commission, said O'Grady made a derogatory comment about the bureau being run by a homosexual.
O'Grady could not be reached for comment.
The motion also states O'Grady's role in the case followed the arrest of O'Grady's grandson.
O'Grady's grandson Russell "Rusty" Ouellette was arrested in 2004 for impersonating an officer by driving through the city in a used police cruiser illegally outfitted with lights and siren.
Then his son-in-law, police officer Russell Ouellette, was charged with tampering with evidence during an investigation of his teenage son.
Russell Ouellette was granted a court program for first offenders in June 2007 that will erase those charges if he completes two years of probation without problem and performs 100 hours of community service.
Frost's motion said that Russell Ouellette was arrested "by order" of Cummings.
In the motion, Frost also accused Mecozzi and O'Grady of preparing "false, misleading and prejudicial" arrest warrant affidavits.
The motion also said that the three victims were interviewed without a state lawyer present, and the interviews were not recorded and conducted according to procedures for teenage sexual victims.
The motions are to be argued when Cummings returns to court on Nov. 13.
- Staff Writer John Nickerson can be reached at john.nickerson@scni.com or at 750-5307.