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 Former Officer Faces Possible Life Sentence Throws Himself of the Mercy of the Court |
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By Jack Nichols
New York, New York--Justin Volpe, 27, a white policeman charged with violently ramming a stick into the rectum of 32-year-old Haitian immigrant Abner Louima on August 9, 1997, confessed yesterday-- after three weeks in court during which he'd maintained his innocence-- that he is, in fact, guilty as charged.
Volpe, who must throw himself on the mercy of the court, faces a possible life sentence. But Volpe's attorney, Marvyn Kornberg, says he expects that the presiding judge will sentence his client to no more than 30-years. Attorney Kornberg had first insisted that Abner Louima's severe internal injuries had been caused by sex with other males, in spite of clear indications that the Haitian father of two, whose wife is pregnant, is heterosexually-inclined. Experts in internal medicine also discredited the attorney's homophobic assertion.
Tuesday, his eyes red from apparent tears and his voice affected by nervousness, Justin Volpe admitted to flying into a "rage" that had thereafter erupted into his brutalizing of Louima. He'd mistakenly believed, he said, that Louima had punched him. Volpe, who, until yesterday afternoon had been under house arrest at his parent's residence, also pled guilty to charges of obstruction of justice for having threatened Louima if the injured man were to tell what had occurred. Within hours following yesterday's court confession, Volpe had been expelled by the NYPD. Four fellow officers testified to such remembrances as that of Volpe brandishing an excrement and blood-covered stick and boasting, "I took a man down." Four other officers are on trial with Volpe, each charged with having contributed to Abner Louima's distress. Volpe's unexpected confession may require that they adopt new legal strategies. Officer Charles Schwarz stands accused of restraining Louima during Volpe's foray into sodomy with a stick. Schwarz as well as Officers Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder have also been charged with brutalizing Louima following his arrest. A supervisor, Sgt. Michael Bellomo, is accused of having covered up the incident. Prior to being led from the courtroom, Volpe asked that the record reflect an apology to his parents. He did not, however, apologize to his victim, Abner Louima. |
