EAST HAVEN — Indicted, arrested and now retired police
officer David Cari expects to use all the money in his Police Department
retirement account to pay for his legal defense — and even then, he may not
have enough, according to court records.
Cari’s lawyer, Alex V. Hernandez of Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport, disclosed Cari’s plans — which will force him to pay taxes on those previously tax-exempt funds — in an appearance motion filed Friday in federal court.
“It is anticipated that Mr. Cari will be liquidating funds presently on deposit in a retirement account to secure funds for a retainer,” Hernandez said. “Accessing these funds constitutes a taxable event and the funds will be treated as ordinary income.
“It is unlikely, however, that the retirement funds available to Mr. Cari will be sufficient to pay for the entirety of his defense,” Hernandez wrote. “It is possible, therefore, that in the future, the undersigned will be moving this Court to be appointed to represent Mr. Cari pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act”
Cari’s lawyer, Alex V. Hernandez of Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport, disclosed Cari’s plans — which will force him to pay taxes on those previously tax-exempt funds — in an appearance motion filed Friday in federal court.
“It is anticipated that Mr. Cari will be liquidating funds presently on deposit in a retirement account to secure funds for a retainer,” Hernandez said. “Accessing these funds constitutes a taxable event and the funds will be treated as ordinary income.
“It is unlikely, however, that the retirement funds available to Mr. Cari will be sufficient to pay for the entirety of his defense,” Hernandez wrote. “It is possible, therefore, that in the future, the undersigned will be moving this Court to be appointed to represent Mr. Cari pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act”
Town Attorney Joseph Zullo told Hernandez in a recent
memorandum that in the event of an acquittal or dismissal, the town likely
would be required to indemnify Cari for his legal expenses, Hernandez said.
But “because of certain adverse tax consequences to Mr. Cari from withdrawing funds in his retirement account, the undersigned request that this Court make its findings on this motion before Mr. Cari liquidates his retirement funds.”
A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday before Judge Alvin W. Thompson in U.S. District Court in Hartford.
Cari and the other three officers indicted and arrested with him Jan. 24 all have outside counsel, in part because of conflicts within the town attorney’s office. Zullo, the town attorney, is the cousin of Jason Zullo, one of the arrested officers.
Cari, Jason Zullo, Officer Dennis Spaulding and Sgt. John Miller all were arrested after a two-year investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and a federal grand jury into alleged profiling and mistreatment of Latinos in East Haven.
Cari was one of two police officers initially involved in the Feb. 19, 2009, arrest of the Rev. James Manship, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven, while Manship was videotaping police taking license plates off the wall at My Country Store, a Latino-owned store on Main Street in East Haven.
But “because of certain adverse tax consequences to Mr. Cari from withdrawing funds in his retirement account, the undersigned request that this Court make its findings on this motion before Mr. Cari liquidates his retirement funds.”
A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday before Judge Alvin W. Thompson in U.S. District Court in Hartford.
Cari and the other three officers indicted and arrested with him Jan. 24 all have outside counsel, in part because of conflicts within the town attorney’s office. Zullo, the town attorney, is the cousin of Jason Zullo, one of the arrested officers.
Cari, Jason Zullo, Officer Dennis Spaulding and Sgt. John Miller all were arrested after a two-year investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and a federal grand jury into alleged profiling and mistreatment of Latinos in East Haven.
Cari was one of two police officers initially involved in the Feb. 19, 2009, arrest of the Rev. James Manship, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven, while Manship was videotaping police taking license plates off the wall at My Country Store, a Latino-owned store on Main Street in East Haven.