Stratford senior police official suspended for cover-up

STRATFORD -- A senior police official accused of trying to cover up the fact that another officer was driving around town in a stolen car has been suspended without pay for 30 days.

Lt. Gerald Pinto, head of the Police Department's Special Services Division, agreed to waive any right to appeal and accept the suspension after being found in violation of five Police Department policies, including the filing of incident reports.

"He mishandled the investigation," said Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour. "I'm glad the investigation is done and we can now move on."

Pinto, through his lawyer, Cathy Kohut, declined comment.

According to the investigative report, in October 2008, a 2005 Lexus sedan was stolen from Lexus of Westport on Kings Highway Cutoff in Fairfield. At the time, the car was valued at $31,000.

On March 29, 2011, Officer Joseph LoSchiavo Jr. pulled the car over on Bruce Avenue after a check on the license plate revealed the car was stolen. The driver of the stolen car was police Detective William Jennings. The report states that while LoSchiavo was calling in the stop to police dispatchers, Jennings was on the phone telling them LoSchiavo had just pulled him over. Jennings told LoSchiavo the car wasn't stolen; it was just a mix-up, the report said.

LoSchiavo apologized to Jennings and let him go on his way.

But after LoSchiavo made an inquiry on the car when he pulled Jennings over, Fairfield police became aware that the stolen car had been found and called the insurance company that dealt with the insurance claim. The company then demanded the car back.

Pinto, Jennings' supervisor, subsequently contacted Fairfield police in an effort to get them to withdraw the computer entry that the car was stolen. He contended that the car had been taken by the town and was being used in undercover operations, according to the report. He told investigators that an error had been made resulting in the car coming up in police computer systems as being stolen and that he had previously told Capt. John Popik, his supervisor at the time, about the problem.

Popik, however, claimed he didn't recall Pinto telling him there was a mix-up with the car. Popik was exonerated of any wrongdoing as a result of the investigation.

Jennings resigned from the Stratford Police Department in January after being suspended for allegedly assaulting a local landscaper.

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