City opens investigation of police strip-search allegations

A sergeant says he never instructed anyone to perform strip-searches.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;By PEGGY SINKOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Police are trying to determine if some of their own violated the law by performing strip-searches.
A criminal investigation into allegations that illegal strip-searches were being done by some officers is under way, said Greg Hicks, city law director.
"The investigation is being done by the police department in conjunction with my office," Hicks said Monday. He declined to say who is being investigated or when the probe will be completed.
Police Chief John Mandopoulos confirmed that a criminal investigation is being conducted.
Courts have determined that conducting an illegal strip-search is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Performing a strip-search without filling out a report is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.
Trumbull County prosecutors say strip-searches should be done only in certain cases, and a list of procedures -- including, in many cases, getting a search warrant -- must be followed.
Earlier probe
Information from an internal police department investigation indicates some officers assigned to patrol the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority were routinely conducting strip-searches on suspects taken to the police station.
One officer assigned to the unit told Lt. Joseph Marhulik, an internal affairs detective, that Sgt. Robert Massucci ordered him to conduct the searches, but Massucci denies giving such an order.
"I never instructed anyone to do strip-searches," Massucci said Monday.
Statements some TMHA officers gave to Marhulik as part of the internal investigation are not available. "Those statements are part of a criminal investigation and are not public," Hicks said.
Massucci has said previously he often asked people he arrested to remove their clothes so he could check for contraband in case they went to jail. Massucci noted that some people try to hide illegal drugs in their private area.
Massucci also has noted officers were ordered to do better searches of people before taking them to the Trumbull County jail.
Capt. Tim Bowers has said the jail sent a letter to the city two years ago saying some prisoners from Warren were carrying contraband on them. Bowers said the officers were told to do a better job in searching people, but they were not told to do strip-searches.
What was reported
In July, The Vindicator reported Patrol Officer Tim Parana acknowledged routinely conducting body-cavity searches and strip-searches on male suspects in minor crimes, according to an internal police investigation.
That internal investigation was started because of a complaint by TMHA resident Dominic Gambone, 25, who lived on South Project Street Southeast when he was arrested in February 2002 on charges of driving under suspension and driving slowly.
Gambone said he was taken to the police station by Patrol Officers Parana and Robert Trimble and strip-searched in a holding cell.
After the internal investigation, Mandopoulos exonerated the officers.
The chief said the officers could be disciplined in the future.
Mayor Hank Angelo and Safety-Service Director Fred Harris ordered the investigation reopened.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;sinkovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;