Expert: Square Hole in Mineo's Boxers Doesn't Match Baton

The hole in alleged NYPD sodomy victim Michael Mineo's underwear was not caused by a police baton, an NYPD fiber expert testified yesterday during the trial of three officers. Yesterday defense lawyers summoned expert Nicholas Petraco, who told jurors, "They could not have possibly made the hole in this underwear. This is a square hole." Petraco also testified that the hole must have been "cut out" or "punched," because it's a clean hole with no flap of material left. Lawyers for the three officers are claiming that Mineo, a body piercer, used one of his own tools to make the hole after the fact.

Earlier this week, transit cop Kevin Maloney testified that he witnessed a half inch or an inch of Officer Richard Kern's retractable baton disappear in "Mineo’s butt crack," and a DNA expert testified that blood on the underwear matched Mineo. But the defense is portraying Mineo as a tattooed degenerate who inflicted his own injuries to sue the city for millions. Prosecutors argue that the officers let Mineo go with an erroneous summons after he resisted arrest because they wanted to cover up the assault.

According to the Daily News, defense lawyers also summoned Deputy Inspector Peter Simonetti, who testified that Mineo was released that day because Officers Kern and Andrew Morales "were part of a unit that was under orders not to arrest marijuana smokers but seek out more serious crime."

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By John Del Signore in News on February 5, 2010 8:55 AM

Comments [rss]

inoyourider

Round peg in a square hole anyone?

jaycjay

How much does a "ripped boxer shorts expert" get paid to testify?

eat vegans

Have you ever tried to rip a round hole in a piece of woven fabric? Almost impossible because the tears happen along the weakest point of the fabric, at 90 degree angles.

Clarice City

Ick. Definately keep those gloves on, lady.

Pachinko

The guy's into figgin obviously.

JacqueMehoff

this is getting to be a joke, does the defense think people are that stupid? yes, I think so.

PTG in nyc

Considering the extreme amount involved in the pending civil lawsuit, the cop who came forward technically has something to gain if he and Mineo agree to a side deal after compensatory awards. Not saying that's the deal, but this whole thing is weird and I wouldn't put anything past anyone involved in the ordeal.

Smoking pot indoors is a much better idea, although during Christmas of 2005 at 4am on the 6 train, I smoked a cigarette in an empty car when it sat at 23rd street for 10 minutes with the doors open. Glad I didn't get batoned in the process.

Politburo

Ok, I guess that's technically possible.

potsmoker

the story makes no sense. there was a hole or two holes, one was made by the baton and or one was enlarged or a new one made by scissor snips to take dna samples, that was in the nytimes.

but its the defense asking the questions, could this hole here be made by a baton. no, its square. sounds good, but the defense and the jury needs to examine the hole and if it was enlarged by sampling? maybe mineo could put the boxers on in court and see if the hole lines up with his butthole.

its up to the defense, fabric tears in up or down with the threads, anyone knows that, knives and bullets and anything with force or cutting edge creates holes that dont match the pattern of the fabric weaves.

anyway, i call bullshit, in a city where little girls are arested for doodling on desks, theres a special unit that has orders not to make weed arrests, when its well documented that weed arrests are what drives the criminal justice system, nyc is the world capital of illegal weed arrests, illegal searches and trick arrests for legal possesion by cop trickery.

valeriob

I think he put the hole there afterward to further convince people that it actually happened.

IMO he was sodomized but is trying to prove it the wrong way, and this could hurt his case.

whyyyy

why did they even try to present that as evidence?? sodomy by baton doesn't necessitate that a hole was made in the boxers. that's pretty extreme.

LaliP

this whole episode is embarrassing!! poor mineo! everyone talking about his bum and now his undies. i feel bad for him.

hotstepper

i guess this is what mama was talking about when she said never leave the house with dirty undies.

NannyState

Dude had it all backwards: the square pig has to fit into the round hole.

farleft

It's square because he shat bricks after he got sodomized. Duh.

valeriob

That sounds about right.

aa77

"if the hole is square, there was no baton in the derriere."

- RIP Johnnie Cochran

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Petraco did concede under cross-examination that the missing material could have been lost on the subway station floor where the alleged assault occurred.