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| Corrections Officer Re-Sentenced |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/27/2001 |
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A corrections officer who pleaded guilty in the 1999 beating death of an inmate has been re-sentenced to 27 years in prison, more than twice his original term. Last year, Patrick Regnier pleaded guilty to fatally beating Thomas Pizzuto, 38, in his Nassau County jail cell on Jan. 8, 1999. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jacob Mishler to almost 11 years in prison. Regnier and a second convicted correction officer, Edward Velazquez, appealed, saying they should have been sentenced under the guideline for involuntary manslaughter, which carries a lesser sentence of five years in prison, instead of voluntary manslaughter. A federal appeals court sent the case back to Mishler and ordered him to clarify what crime the men had committed. Mishler's option in re-sentencing included second-degree murder, which carries a tougher penalty of 27 years in prison. He gave both men a chance to withdraw their appeals, since the new decision could result in a longer prison term. Velazquez dropped his appeal but Regnier did not. Mishler ruled last week that the underlying crime in Pizzuto's death was second-degree murder. The longer sentence he handed Regnier on Thursday was consistent with that finding. Regnier's attorney, Peter Tomao, immediately appealed. 'It is not just,' Tomao said. 'Two men pleaded guilty to the same crime and now there are two different sentences.' Pizzuto, a recovering heroin addict, was serving 90 days on a traffic violation when he was beaten in his jail cell. He died three days later. A third officer, Joseph Bergen, was sentenced to five years and 10 months for doctoring paperwork to cover up the assault at the jail on Long Island. |
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