Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 24, 2007 13:52:04 GMT -5
01.24.2007 - Ex-city police chief William Ruggio won't serve jail time for possessing stolen snowmobiles.
A week after throwing his guilty plea out of court, Oswego County Court Judge Walter Hafner Jr. considered Ruggio's lack of a criminal record and his service to the community and sentenced him Tuesday to three years' probation, a $3,000 fine, and 60 days in the Oswego County Sheriff's Weekend Work Program.
Ruggio will also have to pay more than $12,000 in restitution, although that number can be reduced if the vehicles have been sold at auction. If they have not sold, Ruggio can get them back. He is also forbidden to seek further employment in law enforcement.
Ruggio, 52, was arrested in October 2005 after an FBI raid uncovered three stolen snowmobiles and an all-terrain vehicle on his property.
Represented by his new lawyer, Paul Pelky, he pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts of criminal possession of stolen property.
The sales
Federal prosecutor John Duncan said Ruggio told a friend, Jim Prior, in late 2003 that he wanted to buy a snowmobile and an ATV. Ruggio paid $3,000 cash for a 2000 Yamaha Phazer 500 snowmobile worth $1,400 and a 2003 Arctic Cat all-terrain vehicle worth $3,200, with the understanding that they were not to be registered.
“There was no paper trail to show the legitimate owner,” Duncan said.
In 2004, Ruggio bought a 1999 SkiDoo MX2 snowmobile worth $3,200 and a 2000 SkiDoo MX2 snowmobile worth $3,500 for $3,000 cash.
“He contacted the same people with the understanding that they were not to be registered. They remained unregistered until September 2005,” Duncan said.
After Ruggio was appointed police chief on Sept. 1, 2005, Duncan said Ruggio contacted someone with whom he had a business relationship.
“He asked him to register them, he would give him a snowmobile, and if the FBI should contact him, ‘Tell them it's yours and we'll settle later,'” Duncan said.
That “cooperative witness,” Duncan said, contacted the FBI and gave them the vehicles' identification (VIN) numbers, which showed the vehicles were stolen in Wolcott, Oswego and West Henrietta.
The witness went to Ruggio's house wearing a recorder on Sept. 28, 2005. Duncan said Ruggio told him to raise his hands and “patted him down,” looking for recording devices.
The witness told Ruggio he had registered one vehicle, then returned to Ruggio's house on Oct. 5 with three fake registrations in the witness' name.
Duncan said the Department of Motor Vehicles, which was cooperating in the investigation, supplied the counterfeit registrations.
‘Self- delusion'
Pelky who said a “self-delusion” was to blame, with Ruggio not allowing himself to believe the vehicles were stolen.
“He actively wanted to believe he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was self-deluded in the beginning. He should have asked more questions,” Pelky said.
But, according to Duncan, “The evidence clearly shows any reasonable person would believe they were stolen or suspicious. He was told you can't register them, told there was no bill of sale. Some of them didn't even have keys!”
Duncan added, “When he took an oath to become the chief of police he took an oath to uphold the law, not break the law. The people of the City of Oswego deserve no less than a chief of police who not only upholds the law but obeys the law, and that hasn't happened.”
New lawyer
Ruggio stood in a dark suit next to Pelky for the hour-long hearing.
Pelky was new to the case, having replaced Syracuse lawyer James McGraw less than a week ago.
Pelky said he has been Ruggio's friend for 25 years. “He did a great job as chief, and was unjustly terminated due to a political vendetta,” Pelky said.
He said Ruggio, who counts attorneys and a judge among his in-laws, was deeply shamed by his arrest.
“He knows he's guilty. He'll never delude himself again,” he said.
Pelky asked Hafner to consider Ruggio's lack of a criminal record as well as his history of public service.
He said Ruggio raised money to bring the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to Oswego when the city wouldn't fund it.
Ruggio also raised money for playgrounds.
“He helped hammer and saw the wood. When they were first built they made Oswego parks the pride of the nation,” he said.
Pelky said Ruggio was involved in Rotary, coached Little League and Pee Wee basketball, and was on the Red Cross and Salvation Army boards of directors.
In addition, he said, Ruggio teaches a youth group at his church and “leads groups for people who are doubting their Christianity.”
“He's a man of honor. That's part of the shame he feels,” Pelky said.
He asked the court to let Ruggio redeem himself. “No person is beyond redemption, we're taught,” he said.
Trouble hearing
Ruggio had obvious difficulty hearing Hafner's comments, glancing at Pelky several times for clarification before replying. Pelky told the court that Ruggio has trouble hearing because of Meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder.
He also said Ruggio had taken a muscle relaxant for back pain.
Apologies
Tuesday's plea came a week after Hafner had rejected Ruggio's guilty plea, chastising him and his wife, Ann, for expressing doubts to a probation officer about the chance of getting a fair trial.
Ann was not at Tuesday's hearing.
Pelky apologized to Hafner Tuesday on Ruggio's behalf. “I apologize for any offense Mr. Ruggio has involuntarily given the court. They were trying to say to the probation officer they were very concerned about the media coverage and the attempted linking of him to ex-mayor Mr. Gosek. They were totally focused on the public perception in the jury pool,” he said.
Gosek, who was arrested a month before Ruggio, is serving time in federal prison on morals charges.
Ruggio apologized too. “I should have known about the problems with the vehicles. I guess I just didn't want to see it. I do now. I apologize if I've offended Judge Hafner,” he said.
Sentencing rationale
Hafner said some people might say Ruggio's humiliation, embarrassment and loss of position as police chief are enough punishment. “Those at the other end of the spectrum think the maximum sentence of two years consecutively aren't enough,” he said.
He said someone who had just been released from prison broke into his own home last fall, stole items and sold them in Syracuse.
“When you buy stuff from people on the street at a low price you have an obligation to ascertain whether the person has a legal right to sell it,” he said.
He told Ruggio he had gotten stuck “between a rock and a hard place.”
“You bought them when you were not chief, then you became chief and had them in your possession. You probably thought in hindsight you should have dug a hole and buried them rather than try to legitimize them,” he said.
Hafner said that it didn't make sense to send Ruggio to jail, considering his service to the community and lack of a criminal record.
“On the other hand, you need some punishment to deter others from trying to make deals in the future that are too good to be true,” he said.
He continued, “The court is satisfied that you've accepted full responsibility. Even though you've done good deeds you must acknowledge that somebody was injured. They lost property that was rightfully theirs.”
www.pall-times.com/articles/2007/01/24/news/news1.txt
A week after throwing his guilty plea out of court, Oswego County Court Judge Walter Hafner Jr. considered Ruggio's lack of a criminal record and his service to the community and sentenced him Tuesday to three years' probation, a $3,000 fine, and 60 days in the Oswego County Sheriff's Weekend Work Program.
Ruggio will also have to pay more than $12,000 in restitution, although that number can be reduced if the vehicles have been sold at auction. If they have not sold, Ruggio can get them back. He is also forbidden to seek further employment in law enforcement.
Ruggio, 52, was arrested in October 2005 after an FBI raid uncovered three stolen snowmobiles and an all-terrain vehicle on his property.
Represented by his new lawyer, Paul Pelky, he pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts of criminal possession of stolen property.
The sales
Federal prosecutor John Duncan said Ruggio told a friend, Jim Prior, in late 2003 that he wanted to buy a snowmobile and an ATV. Ruggio paid $3,000 cash for a 2000 Yamaha Phazer 500 snowmobile worth $1,400 and a 2003 Arctic Cat all-terrain vehicle worth $3,200, with the understanding that they were not to be registered.
“There was no paper trail to show the legitimate owner,” Duncan said.
In 2004, Ruggio bought a 1999 SkiDoo MX2 snowmobile worth $3,200 and a 2000 SkiDoo MX2 snowmobile worth $3,500 for $3,000 cash.
“He contacted the same people with the understanding that they were not to be registered. They remained unregistered until September 2005,” Duncan said.
After Ruggio was appointed police chief on Sept. 1, 2005, Duncan said Ruggio contacted someone with whom he had a business relationship.
“He asked him to register them, he would give him a snowmobile, and if the FBI should contact him, ‘Tell them it's yours and we'll settle later,'” Duncan said.
That “cooperative witness,” Duncan said, contacted the FBI and gave them the vehicles' identification (VIN) numbers, which showed the vehicles were stolen in Wolcott, Oswego and West Henrietta.
The witness went to Ruggio's house wearing a recorder on Sept. 28, 2005. Duncan said Ruggio told him to raise his hands and “patted him down,” looking for recording devices.
The witness told Ruggio he had registered one vehicle, then returned to Ruggio's house on Oct. 5 with three fake registrations in the witness' name.
Duncan said the Department of Motor Vehicles, which was cooperating in the investigation, supplied the counterfeit registrations.
‘Self- delusion'
Pelky who said a “self-delusion” was to blame, with Ruggio not allowing himself to believe the vehicles were stolen.
“He actively wanted to believe he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was self-deluded in the beginning. He should have asked more questions,” Pelky said.
But, according to Duncan, “The evidence clearly shows any reasonable person would believe they were stolen or suspicious. He was told you can't register them, told there was no bill of sale. Some of them didn't even have keys!”
Duncan added, “When he took an oath to become the chief of police he took an oath to uphold the law, not break the law. The people of the City of Oswego deserve no less than a chief of police who not only upholds the law but obeys the law, and that hasn't happened.”
New lawyer
Ruggio stood in a dark suit next to Pelky for the hour-long hearing.
Pelky was new to the case, having replaced Syracuse lawyer James McGraw less than a week ago.
Pelky said he has been Ruggio's friend for 25 years. “He did a great job as chief, and was unjustly terminated due to a political vendetta,” Pelky said.
He said Ruggio, who counts attorneys and a judge among his in-laws, was deeply shamed by his arrest.
“He knows he's guilty. He'll never delude himself again,” he said.
Pelky asked Hafner to consider Ruggio's lack of a criminal record as well as his history of public service.
He said Ruggio raised money to bring the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to Oswego when the city wouldn't fund it.
Ruggio also raised money for playgrounds.
“He helped hammer and saw the wood. When they were first built they made Oswego parks the pride of the nation,” he said.
Pelky said Ruggio was involved in Rotary, coached Little League and Pee Wee basketball, and was on the Red Cross and Salvation Army boards of directors.
In addition, he said, Ruggio teaches a youth group at his church and “leads groups for people who are doubting their Christianity.”
“He's a man of honor. That's part of the shame he feels,” Pelky said.
He asked the court to let Ruggio redeem himself. “No person is beyond redemption, we're taught,” he said.
Trouble hearing
Ruggio had obvious difficulty hearing Hafner's comments, glancing at Pelky several times for clarification before replying. Pelky told the court that Ruggio has trouble hearing because of Meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder.
He also said Ruggio had taken a muscle relaxant for back pain.
Apologies
Tuesday's plea came a week after Hafner had rejected Ruggio's guilty plea, chastising him and his wife, Ann, for expressing doubts to a probation officer about the chance of getting a fair trial.
Ann was not at Tuesday's hearing.
Pelky apologized to Hafner Tuesday on Ruggio's behalf. “I apologize for any offense Mr. Ruggio has involuntarily given the court. They were trying to say to the probation officer they were very concerned about the media coverage and the attempted linking of him to ex-mayor Mr. Gosek. They were totally focused on the public perception in the jury pool,” he said.
Gosek, who was arrested a month before Ruggio, is serving time in federal prison on morals charges.
Ruggio apologized too. “I should have known about the problems with the vehicles. I guess I just didn't want to see it. I do now. I apologize if I've offended Judge Hafner,” he said.
Sentencing rationale
Hafner said some people might say Ruggio's humiliation, embarrassment and loss of position as police chief are enough punishment. “Those at the other end of the spectrum think the maximum sentence of two years consecutively aren't enough,” he said.
He said someone who had just been released from prison broke into his own home last fall, stole items and sold them in Syracuse.
“When you buy stuff from people on the street at a low price you have an obligation to ascertain whether the person has a legal right to sell it,” he said.
He told Ruggio he had gotten stuck “between a rock and a hard place.”
“You bought them when you were not chief, then you became chief and had them in your possession. You probably thought in hindsight you should have dug a hole and buried them rather than try to legitimize them,” he said.
Hafner said that it didn't make sense to send Ruggio to jail, considering his service to the community and lack of a criminal record.
“On the other hand, you need some punishment to deter others from trying to make deals in the future that are too good to be true,” he said.
He continued, “The court is satisfied that you've accepted full responsibility. Even though you've done good deeds you must acknowledge that somebody was injured. They lost property that was rightfully theirs.”
www.pall-times.com/articles/2007/01/24/news/news1.txt