Connecticut Bailbondsman, police arrested

Wait..more arrests are coming...

http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm ... 1007&rfi=6

03/19/2007
Scandal may spur bail bond reforms
Gregory B. Hladky

The New Haven police corruption scandal that erupted last week appears likely to cause waves in the General Assembly because of the involvement of several bail bondsmen.
One of the bondsmen arrested was Paul Jacobs, who led a successful campaign in 2004 to shoot down proposed legislative reforms that would have placed stricter controls on how the bail bond business operates.

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Paul Jacobs; his brother, Philip; and their father, Robert Jacobs, were arrested by the FBI and charged with paying tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to New Haven Police Lt. William "Billy" White to hunt down defendants who had skipped.

It was a good deal for the bail bondsmen because they stood to lose all the money they had put up, far more than they allegedly were paying White, as a guaranty that those defendants would appear in court.

Paul Jacobs doesn’t deny that White was paid the money, but insists that bribery wasn’t part of the deal. All the Jacobses were trying to do, he claims, is hire an off-duty cop to "catch the bad guy and get him off the street."

Federal prosecutors have a slightly different take on the matter. They argue White or any other law enforcement officer shouldn’t be taking money from bail bondsmen for doing their regular job, which presumably includes picking up fugitives.

White, the highly decorated supervisor of the New Haven Police Department’s narcotics squad, was recorded on a wiretap saying he’d made $60,000 over several years from the Jacobses for acting as their private bounty hunter.

Federal authorities have charged White with theft of government funds and bribery conspiracy.

State Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, recalled the fierce lobbying campaign that Paul Jacobs and his relatives waged against state bail bond reforms.

One interesting thing about that 2004 legislative battle was the name of the lawmaker who was the Jacobses chief ally: then-state Sen. Ernest E. Newton II, D-Bridgeport.

Newton is currently serving a 5-year term in federal prison for accepting bribes on an entirely separate issue.

Lawlor, who is co-chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, says a legislative investigation of the bail bond business found there was virtually no oversight by the state Insurance Department.

According to Lawlor, insurance officials "never enforced any of the rules."

One of the proposed reforms would have shifted responsibility for bail bondsmen to the state Department of Public Safety, which has plenty of experience in dealing in law enforcement issues. Lawlor says most bail bondsmen favored better state oversight.

Paul Jacobs continued to insist last week that the 2004 reforms were "too drastic."

Ironically, it could be that the activities of the Jacobs clan could be the trigger for General Assembly action.

"I said at the time that maybe it would take a big scandal to get these reforms passed," said Lawlor. "So, maybe this is it."


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Gregory B. Hladky can be contacted at ghladky@nhregister.com or (860) 524-0719.

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CONNECTICUT NEWS
Bail Bond Industry Facing Crackdown
State Lawmakers Urge Stricter Oversight After Arrests In New Haven Bribery Case
March 21, 2007
By COLIN POITRAS, Courant Staff Writer

Lawmakers are calling for more stringent oversight of the state's bail bond industry following last week's arrest of three prominent bail bondsmen accused of bribing a New Haven police officer.

One of those three people facing federal bribery charges, Paul Jacobs, 48, led a fierce lobbying campaign against the reforms when they were first proposed and ultimately rejected by state lawmakers three years ago.


The reforms would move oversight of the bail bond industry from the Department of Insurance to the Department of Public Safety. Critics have charged that the insurance department has not adequately enforced state bail bond laws.

A 2004 legislative review of the industry, prompted by a series of stories in The Courant, found the largely unregulated bail bond businesses rampant with illegal and unprofessional pricing and business practices.

"The events that unfolded [last week] clearly demonstrate the need for the reform that we advocated for in 2004," state Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, said in a prepared statement. "The Department of Insurance does not have the expertise in dealing with the criminal justice system that the Department of Public Safety has."

Other proposed reforms include requiring a set fee for bail bonds, thereby preventing bondsmen from offering discounted prices to attract business, a process known as undercutting. Critics say those lower rates give unscrupulous bond businesses an unfair advantage and have forced judges to set higher bail prices to protect the community from potentially dangerous criminal defendants who are able to gain their release at discounted prices.

Currently, bail bond agencies providing cash surety bonds are supposed to require between 7 percent and 10 percent of the bail in cash from a defendant or their family before posting a bond. Some agents accept considerably less to attract more business. For instance, a down payment for a $100,000 bail bond is supposed to be $7,150, according to the current market rate. Some bail bondsmen, however, have provided a $100,000 bond for as little as $2,000 down, industry sources said.

"Having no regulations has really hurt the small operations," said Mary Casey, president of the Connecticut Surety Association, which represents about 30 bail bond agencies statewide. Casey said the bail bondsmen in her organization support the reforms, which are long overdue.

Lawlor and state Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, D-Stamford, are working to get the reforms passed this year as leaders of the legislature's judiciary committee. The leaders of the General Assembly's public safety and security committee, Sen. Andrea L. Stillman, D-Waterford, and Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven, are also seeking support for the bill.

"The legislation that we debated three years ago should have been passed and signed into law," Stillman said.

The judiciary committee approved the reforms three years ago but the bill never came to a vote on the House floor. A contingent of minority lawmakers came out against the legislation, saying the changes would result in more members of minorities going to jail, despite at least one legislative finding to the contrary.

Paul Jacobs was arrested with his father, Robert Jacobs, 79, and his brother, Philip Jacobs, 47, who are principals in the family business, Jacob's Bail Bondsmen of New Haven. Jacob's Bail Bondsmen operates under numerous business affiliates in the state and is considered the largest general bail bond agency in Connecticut.

The three were arrested March 14. They are accused of paying New Haven police Lt. William White thousands of dollars to pick up defendants who had jumped bail. The three bail bondsmen are free after putting up their houses as collateral and posting bail of $750,000 each.

White faces bribery charges. He was released last week on $2 million bail.

Contact Colin Poitras at cpoitras@courant.com.

04/26/2007
Ex-city cop facing 2 indictments William Kaempffer , Register Staff

-NEW HAVEN — A federal grand jury handed up two indictments against a former New Haven police lieutenant and three bail bondsmen Wednesday afternoon in connection with a FBI corruption probe into the New Haven Police Department and the local bondsmen.
Lt. William White and bail bondsmen Robert Jacobs, Paul Jacobs and Philip Jacobs were arrested on criminal complaints March 13 and waived probable cause hearings. The indictments were an expected next step.

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Justen Kasperzyk, a narcotics detective in White’s unit who also was arrested when the FBI raided police headquarters and hauled out the two officers and boxes full of documents, was not indicted.

Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, wouldn’t comment on why Kasperzyk wasn’t indicted and would only say that the criminal complaint against him was still pending.

The indictments shed little new light on the case beyond what was reported in a dramatic 57-page complaint filed in federal court in March. Certain sections, however, bolster beliefs that the corruption extends beyond White and Kasperzyk, at least in the bribery allegations.

White, 63, who was a 39-year veteran, is charged with operating a freelance bounty hunting operation out of police headquarters and collecting tens of thousands of dollars from the Jacobses in exchange for tracking down bail jumpers.

The indictment indicates that the scheme had been in operation since at least 2002 and repeatedly makes reference to White "and others, known and unknown to the grand jury" participating in the illegal enterprise.

After the arrests, both Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. have said they expect additional arrests.

"This office and our law enforcement partners are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it exists, especially in areas where law enforcement personnel are alleged to be corrupt," U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor said in a statement. "This investigation is ongoing."

In the first indictment, White is charged with two counts of theft of government funds for allegedly stealing nearly $30,000 planted by the FBI and splitting it with an undercover investigator.

In November 2006, White allegedly directed the undercover to take $2,000 that was planted in a drawer during a Truman Street drug raid, according to the indictment.

Then, in January, White allegedly stole $27,500 planted by the FBI in the trunk of a rented Cadillac DTS and parked on Long Wharf. Initially, White took $5,000, worrying that the owners might kill the informant who tipped them off if the money went missing. He and the undercover later returned, however, and took the remainder, writing "estupido" on the empty money bag to make it appear that the cash was taken in a robbery. The informant was ficticious.

Kasperzyk, 34, also was arrested as part of an FBI sting. Authorities had planted $5,000 and drug paraphernalia in a hotel room and an "anonymous informant" tipped off Kasperzyk. He and other officers went to the location twice, and the second time, without a warrant, seized the money. Some $4,640 was placed into evidence. Later, when the FBI raided an illegal poker game at a Wooster Street social club, they found Kasperzyk and $320 of the missing money.

Why Kasperzyk wasn’t indicted Wednesday with the rest is an open question. "You can rest assured, especially given the skill and the experience of David Ring, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, that nothing is occurring by accident," said Quinnipiac University law professor Jeffrey Meyer, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1995 to 2004.

"One possibility is he (Kasperzyk) is cooperating and that he has extended the time and that he would enter a guilty plea in short order," said Meyer, who stressed that he doesn’t have direct knowledge about this case.

The second indictment names White and the Jacobses and adds additional charges to the bribery- related counts that were filed in the initial complaints.

The second indictment, which focused on the illegal bounty hunting business and alleged bribes paid to cops for catching fugitives, charges White, Robert Jacobs, 79, of Branford, and his sons Paul Jacobs, 48, and Philip Jacobs, 47, both of Woodbridge, with counts of bribery and theft related charges and multiple counts of mail fraud.

Defense attorneys for White, Kasperzyk and Paul and Philip Jacobs didn’t return phone calls, or declined comment.

William Dow, attorney for Robert Jacobs, declined comment on the indictment, but said "Bobby Jacobs is a beloved and well-respected New Haven institution. He’s known throughout the community and has been an active part of it as a bail bondsman for nearly half a century. It’s an honor to represent him."

Arraignment dates for the four have not been scheduled, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

After their arrests, the Board of Police Commissioners fired both officers. White will collect a $91,000 a year pension. Kasperzyk has his disability pension pending.





©New Haven Register 2007

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

05/28/2007
Cop arrests tainting drug cases
Bill Kaempffer , Register Staff

-NEW HAVEN — The public defender didn?t ask questions when the state prosecutor placed an old drug case back on the docket. The judge vacated the defendant?s guilty plea and dropped all charges without explanation.
Assistant Public Defender Shepard Sherwood understood only that it had something to do with Lt. William White or Detective Justen Kasperzyk.

"(David) Strollo couldn?t explain to me why it happened. .... Someone from law enforcement brought something to their attention concerning that particular arrest," said Sherwood.

"I guess because the matter is still an ongoing investigation, he wouldn?t tell me exactly why the case was nolled."

The ongoing matter is the federal corruption probe that has led to the arrests of White, the head of New Haven?s narcotics unit, and one of his detectives, Kasperzyk.

Strollo is the supervisory assistant state?s attorney who oversees the lower courthouse at 121 Elm St. where most New Haven drug cases are heard.

In the 11 weeks since the FBI arrested two cops and the police department disbanded its narcotics squad, prosecutors in Superior Court have been dealing with the fallout, examining potentially tainted cases, disposing of some that might be fatally flawed and offering "discounts" to other defendants to resolve cases that could be harder to prove after the arrests.

How many criminal cases have been affected?

The state?s attorney?s office refuses to say.

Last week, Strollo said he couldn?t comment because of the pending federal prosecution against the two former cops.

His boss, New Haven State?s Attorney Michael Dearington, only would say the arrests have not affected the disposition of a large number of cases.

"The only answer I would give is it?s not significant," said Dearington. "It has affected a limited number of cases and the affect has not been dramatic."

While prosecutors wouldn?t disclose how many cases have been affected, defense attorneys who work in the courthouse estimate the figure is probably in the dozens.

In instances where Kasperzyk or White are integral parts of the investigation and there are no other officers to corroborate their claims, cases have been thrown out entirely.

"From what I observe, the case that is exclusively handled by White or Kasperzyk, the state has been taking very favorable action, generally nolling those cases," said defense attorney Mike Dolan, who handles a lot of drug cases in Superior Court.

"The court has been recognizing that they (White and Kasperzyk) cast a pretty wide shadow when they?re involved."

The arrests left police and Superior Court personnel shaken.

FBI agents, on the same day they raided police headquarters, came into Superior Court and arrested bondsman Phil Jacobs on charges he bribed police to track down bail jumpers. He was handcuffed and agents placed a jacket over his shoulders before ushering him out of the court as stunned court employees looked on. His father Robert Jacobs and brother Paul also were arrested.

It is there that hundreds of drug cases from the New Haven narcotics enforcement unit were heard each year. White and Kasperzyk, along with three bail bondsmen, were arrested March 13 after an eight-month federal probe. The two cops are charged with stealing money planted by the FBI in a sting operation.

"As soon as that hit the news, everyone went back to their files and looked for those names," said defense attorney Glenn Conway.

Supervisory Assistant Public Defender Joan Leonard said she and her attorneys have been red flagging cases in which the two former cops had even a periphery role. After the arrests, Strollo told the public defenders to bring cases with which they were concerned to him, she said.

Gradually, business has returned to normal at the courthouse. After an initial void, drug cases are again filling the docket since the state police-run task force that took over narcotics enforcement in the city.

Despite the federal charges hanging over their head, Robert and Phil Jacobs, longtime fixtures, are again in court every day bailing out defendants.

But attorneys say the police scandal continues to loom in the background.

When the drug cases appear on the docket for a pretrial conference, Superior Court Judge John Blawie, a former prosecutor, makes a point of asking if either officer was involved in the case, said Leonard.

"Any case where those names came up, they were disposed of more favorably and anyone who tells you different is not being forthright," said Conway.

©New Haven Register 2007

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

That isn't funny. It's not even coming close to being funny. Yeah, they did something wrong, but I did my research and found that they are good men with families. They should be punished, but with several years' probation each, community service, and a hefty fine.

This issue is almost 6 months old now, if not older. so why are you just now commenting on it ?

also, are you in this industry ? if so how ?

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Are you in any way related to these people or a CT bondman who's too new to industry to know what really happened???? What state do you work in, what are your credentials, etc??? Like Ruffin said...this is almost 6 months old, so why ask more about it now???

I have several issues with them.

1) Because of tv and movies, the bail industry already has a bad reputation.

2) Real life bail agents have some what of a power position in our society that gives them control over peoples lives.

3) I volunteer hundreds of hours each year doing community service. I get very tired of celebreties and others getting sentenced to "community service" as a punishment for crimes they committed!

4) We all have families. The time to think about them is before you commit the crime!

5) Because of their relationship with the court and law enforcement, they should be made an example of. Probation and community service doesn't cut!

Do the crime, do the time...enough said...