Accused cop's cases under scrutiny

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The head of the Rhode Island Public Defender's office has ordered his attorneys to review pending and past cases in the wake of "Operation Deception."

John Hardiman tells the Target 12 Investigators he sent an email to all 47 public defenders Tuesday morning, asking them to review their case files looking for the name of accused narcotics detective Joseph Colanduono.

Detective Colanduono was one of three officers charged last week in a state police drug dragnet dubbed "Operation Deception."

"We're looking at past and present cases and we'll bring them to the attention of the Attorney General's office," Hardiman said.

 

Past Cases

Target 12 has also learned Colanduono was a star investigator in what was hailed as the largest cocaine bust in Providence Police history.

The 2004 multi-agency investigation "Operation Royal Flush" netted 26 arrests, many of them members of the Almighty Latin Kings Gang, seized nearly 23 kilos of cocaine and more than half a million dollars in cash.

Colanduono was praised by police brass for his work, even given the national "Top Cop" award along with three other investigators on the case.

At the time, Providence Mayor David Cicilline issued a press release thanking Colanduono for keeping "neighborhoods safe."

Eyewitness News legal analyst Lou Pulner said it doesn't matter how good the work may have been; past cases will be scrutinized.

"There are going to be more defense attorneys filing motions for post conviction relief if he's been a witness in recent cases for any convictions," Pulner said.

Target 12 reached out to dozens of defense attorneys involved in "Operation Royal Flush."

So far, none have heard from their clients or were even aware that Colanduono played a role in the case.

Attorney Emili Vaziri represented a defendant who pleaded guilty to drug possession in that case. She said even with Colanduono's involvement, for defendants that admit guilt, it may be hard to go back.

"Even if [Colanduono's] testimony is tainted, they may have others that are viable and available to testify," Varizi said.

Some lawyers we spoke to are watching the "Operation Deception" closely to see if other detectives are implicated in the investigation.

"I'm sure people will be coming out of the woodwork if these guys were involved," said defense attorney Thomas Connors.

Colonel Dean Esserman placed three unnamed narcotics officers and one patrol officer on administrative duty after one of the defendants in "Operation Deception" implicated the men.

"I think before anybody does anything we need to take a deep breath and see where it all lands," Vaziri said.

 

Pending cases

A spokesperson for the Rhode Island Attorney General's office said they have assigned Deputy Attorney General Jerry Coyne to review all drug cases that have come in from Providence police.

"If any defense attorney thought we ought to review a case, we anticipate they would put it to us in writing," said Mike Healey, spokesperson for Attorney General Patrick Lynch. "Even though there is unquestionably a cloud cast on some cases, we can't just automatically assume that every case that he's somehow been involved with is not legitimate."

Healey said they have yet not dumped a case in the wake of Colanduono's arrest.

A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha would not comment if a prosecutor has been assigned to review pending cases. But spokesperson Jim Martin said Colanduono would clearly not be part of any pending cases from here on out.

For years, Colanduono has been on loan from the Providence Police to a Drug Enforcement Agency task force. He investigated several cases handled by the U.S. Attorney's office.

One of those cases uncovered by Target 12 is against Epifanio Abreu, who was charged in February for possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

Abreu's defense attorney, George West, said Colanduono testified against his client at a preliminary hearing on February 23rd.

On Monday, West requested a transcript of that testimony to review Colanduono's involvement.

Pulner said legal moves like that will start coming with greater frequency.

"Anything Mr. Colanduano put his fingers on is going to be just under such strict scrutiny," Pulner said. "I think it's going to harm all of the cases in the U.S. Attorney's office or in the Attorney General's office. The ripple effect on this is just extraordinary."

Target 12 has requested the number of cases Colanduono has been involved with from the Boston office of the DEA. The agency has not yet supplied the number.

twhite@wpri.com