HARTFORD, Conn. -- The sentencing of retired East Haven police officer Jason Zullo has been postponed until after two of his former co-workers have their trial. This has left Zullo distressed, his attorney said Monday.
A sentencing hearing was held Jan. 8. He faces up to two years in prison.
Zullo was arrested along with Officers Dennis Spaulding and David Cari and Sgt. John Miller after a two-year investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice into alleged profiling and mistreatment of Latinos in East Haven.
Last week, Judge Alvin W. Thompson ruled "in the interests of justice" Zullo's sentencing will be held after Cari and Spaulding's trial, with jury selection set to begin April 1 and the trial commencing April 8. Their jury trial may go as long as May 13. No date has been set for Zullo's sentencing.
"The news is deeply distressing to Mr. Zullo. We entered a plea to put this nightmare behind him. It is being prolonged. We want the sentencing hearing to go forward now," said Zullo's attorney, Norm Pattis.
Zullo accepted a deal, and pleaded guilty to leaving an item out of a police report involving an individual who is not Hispanic. A Department of Justice spokesman said the government had no comment. A message left for Thompson was not returned.
Pattis has said Zullo accepted the deal to avoid the risk of going to prison for a longer time, as he has two young children.
At the first sentencing hearing, Zullo's wife, Lisa, said the conditions of her husband's release have been difficult for their family, which continues as he awaits sentencing.
Zullo is in his wife's custody in their Branford house, and is only allowed out of the residence between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. He is not allowed to enter East Haven or leave the state without permission.
Miller pleaded guilty to depriving a citizen of his civil rights by using excessive force. He was due to be sentenced Feb. 1, but it was postponed to March 22.
Due to the stipulations of his plea agreement, if Miller cooperates with the federal government he is not expected to serve jail time.
Cari was remanded to his mother's custody and house arrest last month after a judge ruled he violated two parts of his release after he was arrested by illegally hunting deer and criminal trespassing.
Copyright 2013 - New Haven Register, Conn.
