[MA] Agawam Cop Syniec accused of DV on Officer Petrangelo

Agawam Police Officer Barry Syniec charged with assault and battery, threatening, criminal harassment, witness intimidation and malicious property destruction in domestic events alleged to involve Agawam Officer Danielle Petrangelo as victim.

OFFICER ORDERED HELD UNTIL TRIAL
August 08, 2006
[Excerpts] Agawam police officer Barry P. Syniec, 35, who is charged with beating another officer who was an ex-girlfriend, was ordered held without bail yesterday under a law designed to protect the public from danger... Syniec pleaded innocent in Hampden Superior Court last week to counts including assault and battery, threatening, criminal harassment and malicious destruction of property. After a hearing on whether Syniec poses a danger to the public, Judge Tina S. Page ordered him held without bail yesterday for 90 days until trial... Assistant District Attorney Michelle A. Cruz said her office sought commitment of Syniec to protect the parties involved... Syniec's employment status is "being reviewed" but refused direct comment yesterday on whether Syniec remains on the payroll. "He's not on the job if he's in jail," Gioscia said. Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen declined comment... Police were dispatched to an Agawam residence after being contacted by neighbors about a woman screaming for help. Grasso wrote that a female officer, identified as Danielle L. Petrangelo, 28, in a criminal complaint and grand jury indictment, told him that Syniec threatened to kill her and himself, and had thrown her across the porch and smashed her cell phone when she tried to call for help. Syniec argued with Petrangelo after he arrived intoxicated and threw beer bottles, golf balls and eggs at the house, Grasso wrote. On June 20, Syniec was committed to the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Bridgewater for 30 days by Judge Paul M. Vrabel, after Syniec denied charges in Westfield District Court, according to court documents. Those charges include assault and battery, stalking, threatening to commit murder, malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct... [Full article here]

OFFICER TESTIFIES AGAINST COLLEAGUE
October 04, 2006
[Excerpts] Agawam police officer Danielle L. Petrangelo testified yesterday that on June 19, a colleague and former boyfriend, officer Barry P. Syniec, arrived at her house uninvited, grabbed and threw her, and threatened to kill her and himself. A jury-waived trial for Syniec, 35, of Agawam, began yesterday and continues today in Hampden Superior Court, where Syniec has pleaded innocent to assault and battery, threatening, criminal harassment, witness intimidation and malicious property destruction... Defense lawyer Thomas J. Rooke said Syniec is an alcoholic who can't control his behavior... In June, Petrangelo said, Syniec began sending her messages and e-mail, stating he loved her and couldn't stop thinking about her, or that his hatred was worse. In voice messages, Petrangelo said, Syniec used obscenities and called her a whore... Petrangelo said two neighbors arrived and threatened to call police, and Syniec told them to do so, reciting the Agawam station number. "He looked at me, and he said very calmly that he was going to kill me and then kill himself, because he didn't care anymore," she said. [Full article here]

JUDGE RULES EX-COP GUILTY OF ASSAULT
Thursday, October 05, 2006
A former Agawam police officer, Barry P. Syniec, was found guilty yesterday of assault and battery and other crimes against his ex-girlfriend and colleague, officer Danielle L. Petrangelo. "I truly am sorry to the people I hurt," Syniec, 35, told Judge Bertha D. Josephson after a jury-waived trial in Hampden Superior Court. "My selfishness through drinking was what brought us all here. I'm disgusted with my own behavior." Syniec's voice broke and he cried at times while addressing the court. Besides assault and battery, Josephson convicted Syniec of threatening to kill Petrangelo, and malicious property destruction for twisting and breaking her cell phone... Josephson postponed sentencing and set a hearing for Nov. 1, adding that she wants a psychiatric evaluation of Syniec, along with an investigation and report from probation, before making a judgment. Assistant District Attorney Michelle A. Cruz recommended a sentence of 15 months in jail, plus 15 months suspended and three years' probation, while Syniec's lawyer, Thomas J. Rooke, argued for time served and 10 years' probation. Both agreed Syniec must give up his gun license and undergo treatment and testing for alcohol abuse. Rooke told the court that Syniec lost his job as an Agawam police officer and has been in custody for 3 ½ months, "a deep humiliation for a man who wore the badge"... Cruz, in seeking the jail sentence, said her office may be holding Syniec to a slightly higher standard because he was a police officer. "He took an oath to serve and protect the community," she said, adding that Syniec was "trained in handling volatile situations." Cruz said Syniec should be ordered not to contact Petrangelo, and to stay at least 500 feet away from her. Cruz said she is concerned for Petrangelo's safety, and other Agawam police officers whom Syniec believes are Petrangelo's allies. Rooke said Josephson could bar Syniec from the Town of Agawam entirely while he is on probation, and Syniec could live with a friend while selling his house there. Josephson acquitted Syniec yesterday of witness intimidation and criminal harassment. He has no prior criminal record. However, Josephson refused Rooke's request to release Syniec on electronic monitoring while he awaits sentencing, and Syniec remains held without bail. [LINK]

EX-OFFICER JAILED FOR ASSAULT
December 09, 2006
[Excerpts] A former Agawam police officer will serve a total of six months in jail for aggressive acts last June against another officer whom he dated. Barry P. Syniec, 35, was found guilty after a jury-waived trial in Hampden Superior Court on Oct. 4 of assault and battery, threatening, and malicious destruction of property, involving Agawam Police Officer Danielle L. Petrangelo. Last week, Judge Bertha D. Josephson sentenced Syniec to 2½ years at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow, but she ordered six months to be served directly, and suspended the balance... Syniec, who has been granted credit for about five months of jail time already served, will serve five years on probation, during which he is barred from working in law enforcement or possessing a firearm, and must undergo substance abuse counseling and treatment, and enroll in a batterer's program. Thirty-seven people submitted letters to the court on Syniec's behalf seeking leniency. The group included relatives, neighbors, family friends, former colleagues, and police officers from other towns. "I have known him (Syniec) to be a conscientious police officer, and a solid citizen.... It is my belief that he will prosper with the strong support of family and friends," wrote John M. Spellacy, a retired state police trooper. Thomas J. Sullivan of East Longmeadow, a former principal of the Green Meadow School in Hampden, wrote that he knows Syniec as a friend of his daughters... A neighbor, Dorothy Wright... Josephson acquitted Syniec of witness intimidation and criminal harassment. [Full article here]
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