New Haven Independent

The grand jury, sitting in Hartford, handed down two indictments against former Lt. Billy White. He was charged with two counts of theft of government funds and bribery conspiracy.

One indictment charged White with stealing $29,500 in cash planted by the FBI in a sting in two separate cases. White allegedly believed the cash belonged to drug dealers. Click here to read the indictment.

Those incidents — including the notorious “Estupido” caper — are already well known to people who have followed this scandal closely since it broke March 13. Click here to read a potboiler 57-page FBI affidavit that laid out the manifold charges against White (pictured) and a member of the narcotics squad he oversaw, Det. Justen Kazperzyk, when the FBI first arrested them last month following an eight-month undercover investigation. Since the scandal broke, the city has disbanded the narcotics unit and commissioned a comprehensive independent review of the police department.

The second indictment centers on charges that members of the Jacobs family bail-bondsmen firms paid bribes to White to track down their clients. Click here to read that indictment.

“This is something we certainly expected. It is the next step in the process,” New Haven Police Chief Francisco Ortiz said Wednesday night. “Our department has moved forward, working with the community.”

“We love and we appreciate the federal grand jury system. That is what helped us dismantle the gangs,” Ortiz added. In federal cases, grand juries regularly review evidence after an arrest and before a case is brought to trial; witnesses can be compelled to testify. Ortiz said he has been lobbying Hartford to rewrite state law to allow for the convening of state grand juries to handle major violence cases. “When we have shootings, people don’t have to cooperate,” which makes it harder to convict the gunmen, Ortiz said.

Enter Dannehy

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the two prosecutors handling the Billy White case will be Nora R. Dannehy and David A. Ring. Dannehy took the lead in prosecuting a train of Connecticut elected officials convicted of corruption in recent years, including former Gov. John G. Rowland. David Ring’s recent cases included the prosecution of alleged swindlers involved in gaming the initial public offering of shares of NewAlliance Bank.

“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 stated in a release issued late Wednesday. “This investigation is ongoing.”

Mayor John DeStefano is “pleased” with the indictments because he wants to see this case prosecuted “to the full extent of the law,” said his spokeswoman, Jessica Mayorga.

To read some previous Independent stories on the scandal, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here , here and here.