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MEMORIAL PAGE FOR
"29-TOM-6"
DAVID J. CHETCUTTI,
MILLBRAE POLICE
MOTOR OFFICER, KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY 04-25-98
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EDITORIAL
Originally published Sunday, July 13, 2003
If charge sticks, give ex-officer a long sentence
Editorial Column by Scott Herhold, San Jose
Mercury News
A police officer will tell you that the most
gut-wrenching radio call any cop can hear
is "Code 3: Officer Down.'' When that
dispatch comes through, everyone drops what
they're doing to speed to the scene. That
was certainly the case April 25, 1998, when
Millbrae police officer Dave Chetcuti was
shot by a crazed motorist as he attempted
to back up another officer on a Highway 101
off-ramp. Chetcuti, a beloved officer and
genial prankster, died in a hail -- or hell
-- of a dozen bullets.
If you believe court filings, one prominent
Bay Area lawman saw an opportunity in the
mourning, a chance to rake in a few dollars:
former Santa Clara County sheriff's Lt. Armand
Tiano, now 65, who ran unsuccessfully for
sheriff in 1994.
From years
of covering him, I once thought
Tiano a hotheaded
buffoon, a man who made
flamboyant
copy by being dumb enough to pose
on a motorcycle
with strippers. He even had
likable moments:
He once was reprimanded
for forwarding
media questions to stuntman
Evel Knievel,
then in Santa Clara County
jail.
Now I think
it's a whole
lot worse than I
ever knew.
If there's
a fundamental code
of honor among
cops, a thin
blue line of
loyalty, the
complaint suggests
that Tiano
did more than
cross it. He
trampled it.
Awaiting trial
After being
sentenced to
16 months in prison
last year for
failing to
register as a sex
offender, Tiano
is in Santa
Rita jail now,
awaiting trial
on Santa Clara
County charges
of running
a telemarketing
scam that raised
millions for
various bogus
charities. The
silver-haired
lawman, looking
gaunt but fit,
appeared in
court Friday
before Judge James
Emerson as
lawyers argued
about how to protect
witnesses.
For our purposes,
the story began
about 10
a.m. on that
Saturday in
April five years
ago, when San
Bruno officer
Seann Graham
stopped a man
driving an
unregistered vehicle
just south
of San Francisco
International
Airport. Police
say the motorist
pulled out
a rifle and
began firing.
Graham radioed
for help. Chetcuti,
43, arrived
at the scene,
ordering the
gunman to drop
his rifle. Instead,
the motorist
swung the rifle
around, killing
the Millbrae
officer in
a gunbattle.
Eager to help
Chetcuti's wife and three sons,
mourners gave
thousands of dollars to a relief
fund. It's
at this point that Tiano and his
cohorts enter
the story like bad guys on
bikes.
Of course,
Tiano hasn't been convicted on
the fraud charges.
He's scheduled for trial
in October.
The Chetcuti count names nine
defendants:
It offers few details of who
did what. (Tiano's
attorney, Peter Furst,
didn't return
phone calls, and a lawyer who
appeared with
Tiano last week declined to
comment.)
Bogus fundraising
The prosecution,
however, has evidence that
at least $19,000
in checks intended for the
Chetcuti family
wound up in accounts controlled
by Tiano and
his co-defendants. The complaint
says a bogus
organization formed by Tiano,
the Santa Clara
County Deputy Sheriffs' Athletic
League (DSAL),
took advantage of the publicity
about Chetcuti's
death to raise that money
fraudulently.
As prosecutors
tell the story,
Tiano and
his ex-wife,
Lesa Stone,
used money raised
in the name
of charity
to buy boats, luxury
cars, RVs and
expensive sculptures.
Deputy
District Attorney
Martha Donohoe
says Tiano
and his co-defendants
took in more
than $3
million between
1994 and 2000,
with no more
than $50,000
going to charity.
While the Chetcuti
money was only
a small
piece of that
sum, it was
by far the scummiest.
You could perhaps
understand,
though not
endorse, a
charity fraud
that fooled the
public at large.
But in law
enforcement,
the unforgivable
sin is taking
money meant
for the widow
and children
of a slain officer.
If just that
one count is
true, the courts
should award
Tiano a long
and deserved retirement
in prison.
Officer Dave
Chetcuti died
to save the life
of a brother
officer. He
didn't die so that
a brother officer
could exploit
his legacy.
Scott Herhold's column appears on Thursdays
and Sundays. E-mail sherhold@mercurynews.com
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This editorial was posted at the urging of
retired San Bruno Police Officer Tom
Harrington. Special thanks to Tom for sending it in.
For more information on Charity Fraud, [CLICK HERE] |
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