Judge throws out all charges against PI investigating Harvard murder
Judge throws out all charges against PI investigating Harvard murder Arlington, Mass., July 30, 2009:
In the other closely-watched case involving questionable arrests by police working in Cambridge, a judge dismissed all charges against a private investigator and his wife charged with breaking and entering and criminal trespass at Harvard University. Joseph Cadillic and Elissa Cadillic were arrested May 30. At the time of the arrest, Mr. Cadillic were taking photographs of a Harvard University residence-hall common area where a drug dealer had been shot to death two weeks before. Mr. Cadillic is employed with Nardizzi & Associates Inc., which was assisting the Simmons Agency, Inc. with research on how the murder intersected with drug dealing at Harvard University. After reviewing a motion to dismiss filed by defense attorney William Crowe and an objection filed by District Attorney Gerard Leone, District Court Judge Roanne Sragow allowed the defendants' motion on Tuesday morning, July 28. The Commonwealth has declined to appeal. One apparent implication is that investigators may take photographs in residential common areas at universities without being subject to immediate arrest. Permission can be granted by an occupant of the residence-hall floor; investigators need not obtain the permission of the owner. A graduating Harvard College senior admitted the Cadillics to the Kirkland House J -Entry and given them information about bullet holes and bloodstains the student saw there after Justin "J Cos" Cosby was shot to death May16. Principals for Simmons Agency Inc. and Nardizzi & Assocs. Inc. expressed surprise that police arrested a licensed investigator under the circumstances. "The release of the photographs and narrative will help keep next years' students from becoming targets of predatory crime,"according to Simmons Agency Inc. principal Robert Simmons. "Harvard University has attempted to restrict access to witnesses before, but lost in court," noted John Nardizzi. The landmark Massachusetts case Messing, Rudavsky & Weliky, P.C. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College held that, despite Harvard's demand to control access, investigators may interview most employees -- and former employees--of corporate defendants. Simmons Agency Inc. was established in 1935 and has worked on behalf of clients in the financial, industrial, and legal sectors. Robert Simmons has also been active as a pro bono consultant, lending his expertise to the Boston Center for Adult Education, the Massachusetts Housing Assistance Corporation and the Cape Cod Legal Assistance Program. Nardizzi & Associates, Inc. was founded by John Nardizzi, a lawyer admitted to the California Bar. The firm focuses on complex business litigation, criminal defense and medical malpractice. Most recently, the firm has worked on behalf of people wrongfully convicted of crimes, including a case against the Ayer police that settled this month for $3.4million.
Nardizz & Associates, Inc.
investigations - business intelligence
350 Massachusetts Avenue, No. 135
Arlington, MA 02474
Phone #781-596 -8200
Fax #781-596 - 8202
http://www.nardizzi.com/
Simmons Agency, Inc.
190 High Street, 2nd FloorBoston,
MA 02110T.
Phone #800-237-8230
Fax #617 -695-1815
http://www.simmonsagency.com/about.html