East Haven Police Chief Len Gallo, otherwise known in federal court documents as “Co-Conspirator 1,” announced his retirement Monday amid speculation that he’s about to be indicted in the cop brutality-racial profiling investigation.
Gallo didn’t actually attend the news conference at which his retirement was made official. His lawyer, Jonathan Einhorn, told reporters that Gallo was too “emotionally upset” to attend the event.
Four of Gallo’s cops were arrested last week and charged with a laundry list of federal offenses. Prosecutors called them “bullies with badges” who targeted Latinos for harassment and abuse, beating and kicking prisoners, and attempting to intimidate other officers, town officials and federal investigators. All four have pleaded not guilty.
Several sources have indicated that Gallo is the high-ranking East Haven police commander referred to in the indictments as “Co-Conspirator 1.”
Einhorn insisted Gallo was retiring only because of “his desire not to be a distracting element in East Haven’s efforts to rehabilitate its image both upon its citizens and the general public.”
“He (Gallo) is not guilty of any wrongdoing,” Einhorn said. “He should not be arrested; if arrested, he will be acquitted of any charges.”
Gallo has been chief in East Haven since 1998. The man who hired him, Mayor Joseph Maturo, called Gallo’s decision to retire in the middle of this huge police scandal an “unselfish act.”
Maturo is himself under fire for his comments about what he might do for the Latino community in response to this controversy. He has repeatedly apologized for his “I might have tacos when I go home” response. Various civil rights groups have called for him to resign, a move Maturo insists he won’t make.
As both a police officer in New Haven and as chief in East Haven, Gallo’s career has been marked by controversy over alleged racial prejudice and abusive police practices.
Gallo was put on administrative leave in 2010 by Maturo’s predecessor as mayor, April Capone Almon. After she was defeated by Maturo by 34 votes in November’s election, one of Maturo’s first acts after returning to the mayor’s office was to reinstate Gallo despite ongoing federal investigations.
East Haven officials have said they expect the federal grand jury probe will result in possibly a dozen or more police indictments before it’s all over.
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