Crime, punishment and Raucci Exclusive In a jailhouse interview, convicted schools official discusses his trial and conviction
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published in print: Monday, May 10, 2010
SCHENECTADY -- Halfway through his monthlong criminal trial, Steven Raucci's fate became painfully clear to him.
"I didn't realize until almost two weeks into it I was dead in the water. You know why I was dead in the water? Because the DA had people up there ... saying everything that he wanted them to say, and there was nothing to rebut it or dispute it, or put that doubt in people's minds about what was being said," Raucci said of District Attorney Robert Carney's earliest prosecution witnesses. Raucci, the former facilities director and energy manager of Schenectady schools and one-time CSEA local union president, expressed dismay that several of his former workers, whom he considered friends, took the witness stand and told what he considered half-truths about him.
In a jailhouse interview Thursday at the Schenectady County Jail, five weeks after a jury convicted him of 18 crimes targeting his enemies in the school district and CSEA, Raucci talked bluntly for more than two hours about his belief that he was railroaded by the judicial system and demonized by the media.
"You don't know what that was like to sit there and watch my character being assassinated, and to know what I'm all about, and I'm all about helping people," said Raucci. He feels his achievements during his 35-year tenure with the city district were ignored.
Raucci, dressed in orange prison garb and wearing white, rubber-soled shoes with Velcro straps, maintained a personable-but-tough veneer, saying the past 15 months have been demoralizing for him. Despite his mistrust of the media, he said he hoped the Times Union would help set the record straight.
Raucci's voice cracked with emotion as he discussed the toll the ordeal has had on his wife, Shelley, particularly when he ruminated about how their lives might have been different had he heeded her urging years ago to retire from the his six-figure school district job. He finally did so in March 2009, a month after his arrest on charges that he had vandalized and planted explosive devices on his enemies' cars and homes since 1993. Police said they seized homemade explosives from his Mont Pleasant Middle School office and $120,000 from his Niskayuna home. On Thursday, he said the amount was actually $125,000 and that authorities returned only $114,000.
Raucci, 61, was found guilty on April 1 of all but four of 22 counts, including arson, conspiracy and weapons offenses. However, he was acquitted of a high-level terrorism charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 8 and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
Perhaps no prosecution witnesses was more powerful than Keith McKenna, a retired Glenville police officer with a history of substance abuse and disciplinary problems. McKenna wore a wire for State Police three times between December 2008 to February 2009 to secretly record Raucci bragging about some of the attacks.............>>>>.............>>>>..............Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=929334#ixzz0nWXn0QIW
By MARV CERMAK COVERING SCHENECTADY First published in print: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Whenever I think of bomber/arsonist Steve Raucci it's hard to believe Schenectady School District bosses did nothing to control his rampage against subordinate employees.
Bombing and otherwise defacing employees' homes, puncturing tires and keying of their vehicles and other acts of vandalism were vicious tactics leading to Raucci's conviction.
Besides the nasty criminal acts, Raucci also bullied his underlings in various ways. The one that bugged me the most was his intimidation tactic of grabbing male workers by the crotch. I was in the Army for three years and football locker rooms for several years hanging out with some pretty tough guys. Never once did I see an incident the likes of that despicable behavior.
I've discussed this aspect with several guys I know. They also expressed disgust that a supervisor would stoop to that low level to humiliate workers. We all agreed it's doubtful Raucci will practice his groping technique on future fellow prison inmates..................>>>>..............>>>>..............Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=932074&category=MCERMAK#ixzz0oHcQT3uz
Steve Raucci’s Inconvenient Truth By Pat Zollinger
Steve Raucci is supposed to be sentenced this Tuesday, June 8, 2010. His month long trial that was held in March brought a verdict of guilty on 18 counts out of 22 on April 1st, April Fool’s Day. Throughout the trial the local news media’s picked up and threw out bombshell after bombshell on Schenectady County’s District Attorney Robert Carney’s case. Bob Carney had to wade through thousands of emails in order to pick the ones that laced together his theory of Raucci’s crimes. He also had to pour through thousands of reports written on Steve Raucci’s home computer over the span of several years. But Carney stitched together a compelling case, at least to the news outlets and apparently to the jurors, compelling enough that the jury found Raucci guilty.
Bit by bit, through reporter interviews more of the intent behind Robert Carney’s theories have become apparent. From the moment the first “bomb” went off on the front door of a house on Shardon Ct (also known as “cop alley” because there are a number of cops living in this exclusive neighborhood) to the eventual recording made by an informant, also a former cop, this case appears to be a prosecutor’s fantasy to prove; a case that may even propel him into an elected seat on the Supreme Court. Therefore, I predict that Robert Carney, Schenectady’s District Attorney, will soon be running for a seat on the Supreme Court and he will use the Steve Raucci Terrorism trial (even though he couldn’t prove the charge of terrorism) as his main platform to run for that position.
So why do I personally care about it? Because I believe that the trial was a sham from the very beginning and as the news reports continue to be printed about the Raucci case, more of the internal workings, the backroom tactics so to speak, are coming to light. Robert Carney appears to be quite proud of his convictions as every winner should be, but he’s talking too much about the investigation that led up to his victory. And in a published special two-part package Robert Carney told the reporter about his decision not to use GPS tracking information obtained on Steve Raucci’s vehicle:
Quoted Text
Quoted Text Maybe a GPS tracker would work. They put one on Raucci’s work truck, monitoring his movements for several weeks. The truck traveled daily from Raucci’s Balltown Road home to work and about once a week to Mohawk Commons for a stop at Panera Bread. There was nothing to go on. “We found that he was pretty highly secretive in the way he did it and covered the tracks closely to minimize the risk that he would ever be apprehended,” Carney said. “Trying to figure out when he would do a particular crime was almost impossible.” In retrospect, Carney said, it was just as well that nothing was found through the GPS tracker, since it probably wouldn’t have been allowed as evidence. Courts have ruled that GPS tracking requires a warrant.
Well there you have it. Robert Carney apparently agreed to put a GPS tracker on Steve Raucci’s vehicle without a warrant. Courts have ruled that such a tracking device requires a warrant and if Carney was so sure that Raucci was the criminal behind these serious attacks, why didn’t he get one? Did Robert Carney even “know” that he should have gotten a warrant? What this tiny section of the special report tells me is that Robert Carney is “capable” of picking and choosing what evidence gave him the greatest chance to win a conviction “and” Robert Carney left out “exculpatory evidence”, evidence that could have at least given enough reasonable doubt as to whether Steve Raucci did these crimes. But the fact that the GPS evidence wasn’t mentioned during the trial gives me the impression that its placement was “covered up” by the District Attorney’s office and the various local and State Police department and even the FBI. They couldn’t use it because they illegally placed a GPS device on a person’s work truck. .................................>>>>............>>>>.....................http://www.schenectadyinformer.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1275863766/
Ya she would make a great DA. She doesn't make one valid point. Even DeAngelus would beat up on her in a debate. Raucci will get life in prison. Even with another attorney handling his appeal, he will lose. The evidence was overwhelming- from DNA to incriminating comments on tape to informant testimony and physical evidence......
Papa you are too harsh. At least she tries while the rest of us sit on this forum blogging she goes to work on the issues whether we agree with her or not.
SCHENECTADY Raucci victims to tell of crimes’ impact Judge set to issue sentence today BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Laura Balogh and other victims of Steven Raucci will get their opportunity today to tell the judge exactly how Raucci’s crimes affected them. That opportunity comes as Raucci is sentenced for his April 1 conviction on 18 different counts relating to 10 separate dates. The convictions include first-degree arson and three counts of fi rst-degree criminal possession of a weapon The fi . rst-degree Balogh arson conviction carries a minimum of 15 years to life. The top-level weapons convictions each carry maximums of 25 years in state prison. They can all Raucci run consecutively. Contacted Monday evening, Balogh confirmed that she intends to say what she wanted to say during her trial testimony but was not allowed to. Also expected to speak and give sentencing recommendations will be prosecutor Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney and Raucci’s defense attorney, Ronald De Angelus. Raucci will have his own opportunity to speak, but his family and friends won’t. Raucci has maintained his innocence throughout. Several family members and friends have sent letters to the court on Raucci’s behalf for the judge’s consideration. With all that, plus a month of testimony, acting Schenectady County Court Judge Polly Hoye will have to decide what sentence fi ts Raucci’s crimes. Whatever the sentence, it is expected to be a long one. One of the weapons convictions was for possessing a device inside Mont Pleasant Middle School. ................>>>>...........>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00101&AppName=1
Raucci sentenced to 23 years to life Convicted of targeting enemies, ex-school official learns fate
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer Last updated: 2:58 p.m., Tuesday, June 8, 2010
SCHENECTADY -- Steven Raucci was sentenced to 23 years to life in state prison today, a term that could become a life sentence for the 61-year-old former Schenectady schools administrator convicted of bombing and vandalizing the homes of people he thought were enemies...............>>>>............>>>>............Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=938932#ixzz0qISZ85pO
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Few extra costs to county for Raucci trial, Carney says BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
The prosecution of former city schools facilities director Steven Raucci cost the county little extra, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said Thursday. In terms of expenses for the month-long trial and its preparation, Carney’s office only paid out for lunches for witnesses and travel expenses for one witness from Florida. Aside from those, the costs were limited to salaries of those already on staff, making it a resource allocation question, and what Carney, as district attorney, felt was most important, he said. “And I thought this was pretty important,” Carney said, “beyond the issues of guilt or innocence of him, because it involved a couple of major institutions in our community and the corruption of those institutions.” Carney outlined his offi ce’s costs two days after Raucci was sentenced to 23 years to life in state prison. Raucci, 61, was found guilty April 1 of 18 of 22 counts lodged against him, including fi rst-degree arson and weapons counts. The prosecution charged that Raucci was responsible for numerous criminal acts, including placing bombs on homes or cars, in a series of incidents intended to intimidate people he perceived as enemies or enemies of his friends. No one was injured in any of the incidents. Raucci served as the city school district’s facilities manager and also led the union unit representing the workers he supervised. After the April 1 verdict, Carney called the response, or lack of response, of both the school district and the CSEA union to allegations against Raucci sad. He suggested clues were there to stop Raucci’s reign. Many of the extra hours on the case were put in by Carney himself. Carney personally prosecuted Raucci after meeting at grand jury those who worked under Raucci. Carney worked almost continuously from the second week in January through the verdict, going through documents and preparing witnesses as he worked through weekends. .................>>>>.............>>>>........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01701&AppName=1
Officials transfer Raucci to prison facility in Fishkill SCHENECTADY — Former city schools facilities director Steven Raucci, convicted April 1 of arson and other crimes, is now offi cially a ward of the state prison system. State prison officials picked up Raucci for transfer to state prison about 8 a.m. Monday, Schenectady County Jail offi cials confi rmed. Raucci’s destination was the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, the prison the state inmate database listed him at Monday evening. Downstate is an intake and processing facility for inmates. Raucci is to be evaluated there for several weeks, then transferred to his final destination, expected to be a maximum security prison. Raucci was sentenced last week to 23-years-to-life in state prison. He was convicted April 1 of 18 of 22 counts lodged against him, including first-degree arson and three top-level weapons counts. The prosecution charged that Raucci was responsible for numerous criminal acts, including placing bombs on homes or cars, in a series of incidents intended to intimidate people he perceived as enemies or enemies of his friends. No one was injured in any of the incidents. Raucci served as the city school district’s facilities manager and also led the union unit representing the workers he supervised. Raucci maintains his innocence.
Raucci arrives at Dannemora to serve prison term SCHENECTADY — Former city schools facilities director Steven Raucci, convicted April 1 of arson and other crimes, has now taken up residence at the maximum-security state prison in Dannemora, offi cials said Thursday. Raucci arrived Tuesday at the prison, formally known as the Clinton Correctional Facility, state offi cials confi rmed. Raucci had been housed at the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill since shortly after he was sentenced last month. The Fishkill facility is a first destination for inmates before they are sent to longer-term accommodations. Raucci was sentenced last month to 23 years to life in state prison. He was convicted April 1 of 18 of 22 counts lodged against him, including first-degree arson and three top-level weapons counts. The prosecution charged that Raucci was responsible for numerous criminal acts, including placing bombs on homes or cars, in a series of incidents intended to intimidate people he perceived as enemies or enemies of his friends. No one was injured in any of the incidents. Raucci served as the city school district’s facilities manager and also led the union unit representing the workers he supervised. Raucci maintains his innocence. A notice of appeal has been filed. He has yet to hire appeal counsel, his trial attorney Ronald De Angelus said Thursday.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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