Charges against Palermo for stolen goods dropped
Published 8:16 am Thursday, September 11, 2014
A judge in state district court threw out charges of possession of stolen things against Sulphur businessman Joe Palermo.
Judge Ron Ware said the state failed to show that the charges had been timely prosecuted.
The burden fell on the state to show the charges were timely prosecuted, but the state did not present any evidence at an Aug. 21 hearing, he said.
“The court hasn’t been advised of when the state became aware of” Palermo’s alleged crimes, Ware said. “If there’s ambiguity, the court must resolve any ambiguity in favor of the accused.”
The state had four years from the date it discovered the alleged crimes to bring charges.
“I really do think this was about the DA trying to find a graceful exit from an ill-conceived prosecution of an innocent man,” lead defense attorney Karl Koch said.
Ware’s ruling quashed counts 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the indictment.
Palermo, 70, is accused of owning stolen bulldozers, excavators and trailers; forging the bills of sale for some of them; and altering or removing manufacturers’ numbers. Charges of forgery and altering or removing manufacturers’ numbers remain.
“This is only a short delay,” District Attorney John DeRosier said. “We certainly do not agree with the judge’s ruling; we do not think that’s the law. This will go forward, although this may delay it for a few weeks.”
DeRosier said a higher court will likely overturn the ruling.
At the Aug. 21 hearing, prosecutors argued that too much time had passed for the theft charges, but not for the possession of stolen things charges. Palermo allegedly came into possession of the equipment in 2002 or 2003 and had it from 2010 to 2013.
“We’re obviously very happy and we hope and believe that this is likely the end of this case,” Koch said. “The counts that remain are inconsequential and have never been an item of concern for us. These four counts, which were the crux of the case, we always felt in the end this would be the outcome and we’re happy to see Mr. Palermo cleared and we believe the court of appeal will agree with Judge Ware’s well-reasoned decision.”
Palermo has been under investigation for gambling violations for several years, according to court testimony.
“To the best of my knowledge, the investigation relative to this equipment has only been within the last two years,” DeRosier said.
Koch continued to proclaim his client’s innocence.
“Anytime a case ends in some fashion before a verdict there may be those who want to look at that and say somebody got away with something,” Koch said. “But that’s not America. In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty. It so happens that Joe Palermo really was innocent.”
Rick Hickman