From Dan Tepfer, CT Post:
Local restaurateur John Vazzano, accused of offering a bribe to a teenage girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted in his Bridgeport restaurant, applied for a special probation program on Thursday.
“This is the first step in getting the charges against Mr. Vazzano dismissed, which is the remedy that is appropriate,” Vazzano’s lawyer, Edward Gavin, said following the brief court hearing in the Golden Hill Street courthouse. “We look forward to returning to court for our hearing on the application.”
Vazzano, owner of restaurants in Bridgeport, Stratford, Fairfield and Monroe, is charged with bribery of a witness, third-degree hindering prosecution and interfering with an officer. Bribery and hindering are felonies while interfering is a misdemeanor charge.
Vazzano, who took a leave from his role as a Trumbull police commissioner after his arrest, applied for accelerated rehabilitation, a pretrial program in which a defendant does not plead guilty to the charges but is placed on up to two years of probation. If a defendant completes that probation successfully, the charges against him are dismissed.
Full story here.
This guy is unbelievable,he has been charged with TWO felonies,how the hell does he think he will be granted AR??
Lennie, can you put up the link to the 25 page affidavit from the state investigator. Ctpost picked and spun only 8 allegations while leaving out a good portion of the warrant affidavit. As far as I can see, Vazzano should look for another attorney. Seems like his lawyer is trying to convince him that this Accelerated Rehabilitation application is a “quick resolution”. Vazzano needs to rethink that route if he can get the victim and judge to go along that is. Anything can happen in two years. Having four food facilities makes it four times as likely that the same incident or worst can happen. He even acknowledged that his Restaurants have differing work cultures which he doesn’t seem too concerned about. Based on the affidavit, particularly the part about the alleged conversation regarding the bribe, it sounds more like the victims father was trying to get some type of settlement (not to call it a bribe) when he said to Vazzano, “She just want to work.” Notice he didn’t say, “She wants justice.” In keeping context and as a reply, Vazzano then stated that he could put her to work at his other facility with a different work culture. He then added the $1000 gift card. He said, “gift card”. It’s obvious that the investigators ignored or missed this part of the father’s statement. I find it hard to believe that the father would engage himself in a full conversation and then claim that he felt it wasn’t the right place and time. Then, the father tells Vazzano that his daughter just wants to work and tells the investigator that Vazzano offered his daughter a job as a bribe? Lennie, does this make any sense?
Joel,maybe the comment “ she just wants to work” was followed by “and not have to worry about getting sexually assaulted”
Let’s face it,Vazzano is another one in this city who feels he is above the law because of his “connections”, if you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of people who feel that way in our city.
Like I keep saying, there is so much more to this than what was let out so far.
Follow the money, how much does John Vazzano donate to the DTC in Trumbull, Bridgeport and to the state DTC and how many of his friends and business associates? The mother’s milk of politics is money.
“Maybe” has no place in Court. The state has to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor wasted no time in going along with the application. Perhaps the prosecutor noticed what I pointed out. I’d take it to trial but, before that I’d instruct my attorney to get an explanation or response from the prosecutor’s office. The other charges don’t seem to have much in its favor either. Vazzano should ask Ernie Newton for his former attorney’s contact information.
Harvey, in fact a similar comment did follow after, “she just wants to work.” The comment came out of Vazzano’s mouth when he pointed out that the Catering facility has a different work culture. So Vazzano had “connections” What did the victims father have in the BPD? Can I say he had connections too? Could that be the reason why the “She just wants to work” part was overlooked or as you guys would say “covered up?” What makes you so sure there’s more to this when you guys can’t see what has been spelled out to y’all so far?
I object. This is ridiculous. This is absurd. This is Joe Ganim all over again.
Gavin says this is the conclusion that we want. It is irrelevant if he is guilty or not. All we want is his slate wiped clean so that we can do it all over again but next time be more careful.
Let’s start with having him RESIGN from the board. Not take a leave of absence. And if the first selectman doesn’t get it, then she should resign.
This is not white privilege it is green privilege. Money is what gives this man privilege. That all.
And he has not even made up for all that he has done wrong. Let’s wipe that slate clean not leave it murky as it is.
@Bob Walsh
The attorney is full of shit when he told Hearst Media CT (CT POST and Trumbull Times) that Johhny Vazzano took a leave of absence from the Police Commission.
I have read the Trumbull Town Charter end to end, there is NO SUCH THING as a leave of absence from a Board or Commission. No request for a Leave of Absence was made and none granted. You can’t grant what doesn’t exist.
Johnny V is just not showing up for meetings at this time.
That said the First Selectman does not have the authority to remove him at this time. The appointing Body (go determine that, because the Town Council appoints based on a recommendation from the First Selectman) can remove him after he misses three consecutive meetings or 50% of the meetings in a year.
Not showing up for meetings without good cause such as illness) is just plain dereliction of duties.
*** Come on man! Did anyone familiar with Bpt’s & nearby bedroom community towns political justice not expect an out-side slap on the wrist type results for this case? Don’t know the inside particulars of this case but other than not having to resign as a trumbull police commissioner, if he qualified for A.R , he qualifies, plain & simple. ***
Let’s hope the Judge slaps him with 50 hours of Virtual Community Service!
That will teach him!
We will see sooner or later what role Joe Ganim and Mario Testa played in this.
This just disgusts me. A 16 year old girl has to learn the hard way that politics matter more than crimes.
This case gets more & more intriguing with every report.If he get AR,then we will know he is talking to the feds..
There is way too much substance, intrigue, and implicit, defining corruption — with a capital C — involving too many high level police officials in a PD defined by administrative dysfunction and embedded corruption at all levels, for any judge to consider granting “special probation” to the (presently) central character in a cluster of serious criminal charges without the precondition of giving up the corrupt players, at ALL levels, that were involved in this attempted cover-up/bribery scheme. The present national/state/local political climate demands accountability at all levels of politics and policing. No judge will agree to a whitewash in the context of leniency…
The #&^% is going to hit the fan explosively with this one… Block your ears and wear a raincoat…
Here’s a statement that makes me curious..”Vazzano approached the father of the girl and allegedly told the father that the arrest of the sexual assault suspect “is not a good idea.” ..
Why would Vazzano say it wouldn’t be a good idea to arrest a sexual assault suspect??..Maybe the suspect has some info on certain people?
When you have powerful friends in high places like John Vazzano the rules of th game can get changed.
Ron, this is a state investigation now, who are Vazzano’s “ powerful” friends, a former police chief who has been indicted and is awaiting sentencing & a Convicted Felon who will most likely be indicted also for “ arranging “ Perez to be a top candidate for chief??… Vazzano might want to choose his friends better.Also,how come none of his other “ friends” haven’t come out and supported him yet??
From the original Post article on JV’s arrest on the bribery charges:
“… The affidavit states that in February 2020, during the funeral service of an unrelated person, Vazzano approached the father of the girl and told the father that the arrest of the sexual assault suspect “is not a good idea.” He then offered to give the victim a job at another of his businesses and a $1,000 gift card to Macy’s, the affidavit states….”
There would appear to be more than a veiled threat in that statement. If someone in any PD said that to me, in the context of being the complainant in a very serious case that had grown tentacles to the highest levels of the PD, I’d be concerned for my own, and my family’s safety… Why would any non-related employee(s) of a business owner rate such concern and risky intervention by the employer?! There must be something very, very serious and dangerous lurking in the background here. (Drugs? Human trafficking? Both?) This case is politically nuclear. It’s radioactive and heading towards critical mass/meltdown. Don’t be surprised if the present judge arranges to hand this case off to another judge… It’s getting to hot to handle in these parts.