Pa. Chief Held Without Bail After Cover-up Charges

57 Comments

(Stock Photo)

SHENANDOAH, Pa. – A police chief, ordered held without bail yesterday on charges that he tried to cover up the fatal 2008 beating of a Mexican immigrant by white teenagers, was named in a 2006 lawsuit that said police had beaten to death a Hispanic teenager, then made it look like a suicide.

Police Chief Matthew Nestor, 33, was not charged in the teenager’s death in November 2004, but the allegations in the lawsuit, in Tuesday’s indictment, and in other civil claims depict a police department with hostility to minorities and a penchant for using excessive force.

Pennsylvania Policing

[TRACKLINK:Become a Cop|http://policelink.monster.com/content/education-resources

Police “acted as feudal warlords in this coal town community that people were afraid of,” said John Karoly, attorney for the parents of David Vega, 18, in the 2006 federal lawsuit against the borough. “I would not suggest they were not abusive to everyone and anyone, but I would say the pattern certainly starts to appear that minorities took the thrust of their abuse.”

The suit names Nestor, Capt. Jamie Gennarini, and the Borough of Shenandoah as defendants. The officers have denied wrongdoing. A civil trial is scheduled for the summer.

Nestor, Lt. William Moyer, and Officer Jason Hayes were charged Tuesday with orchestrating a cover-up as the FBI investigated the fatal attack on Luis Ramirez by a group of high school football players. Hayes dated the mother of one of the accused players, and Moyer’s son played on the football team, according to the indictment.

Gennarini and Nestor were indicted separately in a scheme to extort money from illegal gambling operations.

Yesterday, Nestor was ordered held until trial at a bail hearing in Wilkes-Barre. Judge Malachy Mannion called him “clearly, unequivocally a serious danger to witnesses in this case.”

« Previous 1 2 Next »

Flag as inappropriate

jaycop4

over 3 years ago

130 Comments

SAY IT AGAIN CHIEFKCR, THANK YOU
granny1

over 3 years ago

1448 Comments

sad day indeed.
chiefkcr

over 3 years ago

3626 Comments

Very bad state of afairs indeed ! There is no room for Hatred and bigotry in this job ! We are sworn to protect and serve ALL, not a chosen few. Very sad story if true this group of Officers have hurt us all.
DALLASCRANE

over 3 years ago

19386 Comments

Chief, say it ain't so? Selling your soul has "grave" consequences.
chpprsinc

over 3 years ago

402 Comments

not good at all cheif
Anonymous

over 3 years ago

P.S.
The "high school kids" are MURDERERS...
Not the version of a "kid" to me.
Anonymous

over 3 years ago

Snewn,

Perhaps you should read this article entirely… And, if you are considering a career in LE you may want re-consider…

LEGAL or ILLEGAL have nothing to do with it. Luis Ramirez is NOT the only case or problem at question here.

There is a pattern of wrongdoing here and the irrefutable evidence for that is the death of David Vega, an America Citizen, born and raised in the U.S., whose death occurred while in police custody after his arrest by the Chief’s father “Capt” Nestor and another “Officer”.

Moreover there are multiple questions about their performance and conduct, including but not limited to Extortion and Racketeering.

You should also check the link submitted by GMcAvin, who is a resident of the area.

A LEO is someone with a duty to enforce the law of the land. Nothing more. Nothing less… If the Mexican was here illegally, a LEO is under duty to follow procedures, as provided by law, not to administer summary justice on his own. We may or may not agree with the law regarding a particular case, but it is the law, and that is what we are supposed to enforce…

When laws become obsolete and dysfunctional the people of this country will eventually change them, that’s the beauty of our Constitution.

Sorry, but I am not just going to seat here and let you stir this into a Circus.
Omarra67

over 3 years ago

2284 Comments

I hate to see stories like this.
bklyn

over 3 years ago

762 Comments

case stunk from the begining. officers told kids to get rid of bloody sneakers (evidence) . justice dept. filed new charges against retards that killed the guy (father of 3). hopefully justice will be served.
beejac

over 3 years ago

1424 Comments

Maybe tewnty five or thirty years in one of the state prisons would be constructive.
snewn

over 3 years ago

108 Comments

Mexican immigrant? The word illegal was dropped from this version of the story. If our f---ing government would bother to enforce our laws, then all of these LEO's and high school kids lives wouldn't be circling the toilet right now. I'm not saying that the mexican deserved to die for whatever reason, but it could have been avoided!
Whalewatcher

over 3 years ago

9932 Comments

After reading all of the commentaries from LEOs with experience from that part of the country, it sounds like the Pa. legislature needs to get off it's collective butts and make some changes in order to keep things like this from happening in the future.
sheriff950

over 3 years ago

5340 Comments

Wow, here we go again, another slap in the face to law enforcement!
Jonas

over 3 years ago

38540 Comments

It is pretty damn sad, and we're hearing it almost every day. Does this mean it gets sadder?
Anonymous

over 3 years ago

Wow