TAINTED LOVE

...Or Chief Tedesco's police malpractice.

Our coverage of Domestigate continues.

Regardless of what happens in Domestigate, the Internal Affairs findings and, to a lesser extent, the criminal investigation are forever tainted.

Taint:

1. to affect or be affected by pollution or contamination: oil has tainted the water.

2. to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

3. a defect or flaw: a taint on someone's reputation.

4. a trace of contamination or infection 

 

The past participle:  tainted. The gerund: tainting and our favorite: the preterite, I tainted, you tainted, we tainted. All of which can be fun in mixed company. In urban slang, the space between the anus and the genitalia. All these definitions are applicable to this matter.

 

We discussed the Internal Affairs investigation with numerous police professionals including two State Troopers, a sheriff's deputy, two Albany detectives and Larry, that security guy with the laminate down at Sam's Club.

 

Police investigations for dummies 101: The Troy Police Department should not investigate the Troy Police Department. There are a number of reasons for this, some obvious, some less so. Here, the Internal Affairs investigator reports directly to Chief Tedesco. We know that the investigator, we'll call him Joe C.,* is one of Tedesco's boys. We also know that retired detective Ron Fountain is also one of Tedesco's boys. We know that Detective Colaneri is decidedly not one of Tedesco's boys.

 

This structure makes it very difficult to trust the Internal Affairs findings and the actions that follow. Was someone allowed to retire before the suspensions start to fly? Is someone a scapegoat? Is Tedesco using the investigation to make life difficult for certain officers who are unconnected with the release of the tape? Will some people be let off light or over looked? Will we ask more questions?

 

The answers to each of those questions might be a resounding no! Yet, those questions will remain and the findings of the investigation...tainted.

 

This is not something that we pulled out of our hash pipe. Tedesco has placed the department in an untenable position by not outsourcing both the Internal Affairs investigation and the criminal investigation to the State Police, the FBI, Captain Frank Furillo or Larry, down at Sam's Club. Punishment will be too light or too heavy. The wrong people were targeted. Too many people targeted. Not enough. Frankly, this was a stupid, rookie move that can only be explained by a megalomaniac need to control the outcome of the investigation.

 

The same holds true for the criminal investigation, led by Officer Mason. It would not surprise us if others advised that the investigation be sent out. Obviously, those people were ignored.  This a serious case and the chief's handling of it demonstrates misfeasance at a very basic level..

 

We don't know what Colaneri did or did not do. We do know that there is no reason to trust the IA findings due to Tedesco's malpractice in failing to outsource the investigation, ensuring untainted results. The public has a right to know that the right people are punished and that the punishment is proportional to the offense. This will not be the case here. Questions and doubts will remain because an outside entity was not brought into the game. Mrs. Gordon is still being used as a political pawn.

 

 

 

 

* What should be investigated is the highly detailed leaks that came from the TPD during the course of the investigation.