Thomas Bianco - Perjury / False Accusation

Bianco, Thomas; murder; NRE: perjury/false accusation, prosecutor misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence, misconduct that is not withholding evidence

Suggestibility issues

[582:622]; Cayuga Cty. Ct. 2/21/92; motion for new trial granted , due to Brady violations

"In calling John Bazarnik to testify at trial it is clear that the [prosecution] sought to establish one vital fact: that during a May 8, 1982 conversation with [Bianco], the latter had admitted: 'I think I killed Julie Monson.'"

"It is equally clear that the thrust of the cross-examination of Bazarnik was to cast doubt on whether [Bianco] had uttered the words which the witness put in his mouth. It was pointed out that he had not related the alleged admission to the authorities during interviews on May 11th and August 2nd.

"What the defense could/would/should have been in a position to demonstrate to the jury was that Bazarnik had said nothing of the admission during seven police/prosecutor interviews between the date of its alleged occurrence and when he finally disclosed it in May of 1983 (after specifically denying that it had happened). But...the fact or content of five of the interviews, in addition to the denial, were not disclosed by the prosecution." [Former emphasis original.]

"William Komanecky (a Lieutenant at the Auburn Correctional Facility) and his son Andrew were also called as prosecution witnesses for a specific -- and critical -- purpose: to describe a man..."

"That man had been seen by them during the early morning hours of Julie Monson's disappearance. They had seen him standing near two stopped cars in the street below their second-floor apartment on Prospect Street in Auburn talking with a female who would eventually get into his car with him and drive off, leaving her car -- Julie Monson's -- behind. By the time of trial it was clear to everyone that, according to the prosecution theory, the female whom they had seen was Julie Monson and the male was her killer.

"They described for the trial jury the man's height: 'somewhere between five ten and six feet'...with 'wide shoulders'...'dark shoulder-length hair'...and, according to the elder Komanecky, he had 'high cheekbones'...That description arguably fit...Bianco.

"[I]n his closing argument to the jury the [DA] attempted to tie the Komanecky description to [Bianco's] in-court appearance with the care and finality of a noose...:"

"'Bill Komanecky testified when he looked out, one thing kind of stuck out. [The killer] appeared to have high cheekbones. Look at [Bianco], ladies and gentlemen; look at him. He can cut his hair, he can lose weight...but he can't change the appearance of his face...'

"However...there was information which those same jurors did not have because it had not been provided to [Bianco's] counsel.

"On October 16, 1991, within days of the September 27th event, William Komanecky (the only trial witness to have given any facial description whatsoever of 'the man' who had spoken with Joan Durham -- in the presence of note-taking police detectives -- and for the better part of an hour described the man, the girl, and the scene)...What about a description of facial feaures? Ms. Durham was asked at the November 1991 [pre-trial] hearing. There had been none; not 'high cheekbones' or anything else -- and for good reason. Komanecky told Durham that the man had his back to him and that he had never seen his face."

[So, why was Komanecky's testimony at trial so dramatically (and damningly) different? He would seem to have been coached to be more helpful to the prosecution.]

[This is not the only case in which a correctional officer helped to convict an innocent man. Also see Kin-Jin ('David') Wong. In that case, it was a c.o. who coached a witness to provide more damning testmony.] [591:287] The Fourth Dept. then reinstates this conviction; opines that undisclosed material would not have changed outcome. But, the following year -- 1993 -- Bianco was (finally) exonerated anyway.

from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"In September 1981, 18-year-old Julie Monson disappeared after leaving a party in Auburn...Her remains were discovered in April 1983 in the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, about 15 miles away.

"In 1985, Thomas Bianco, the victim's former boyfriend who was 19 when Mason disappeared, was arrested and charged with murder.

"Ih the spring of 1986 Bianco went on trial in Cayuga County...Thomas Calescibetta testified for the prosecution that he was one of Bianco's friends and that Bianco had confessed to him that he had killed Monson. Other witnesses testified they saw Bianco with Monson shortly before she disappeared.

"The prosecution argued that Bianco killed the victim after she refused his sexual advances. On March 12, 1986, a jury convicted Bianco..."

"After Bianco's conviction, his attorneys discovered that the prosecution had concealed a witness statement pointing to another suspect, and other statements describing a man other than Bianco who was seen with the victim before her disappearance.

"Prosecutors also failed to disclose that Calescibetta had spoken to police several times before mentioning Bianco's confession. Calescibetta recanted his testimony in 1992, and said that prosecutors pressured him to testify against Bianco.

"After hearing the recantation, Justice Patrick Monserrate ruled that the prosecution had improperly withheld evidence. He vacated Bianco's conviction and Bianco was released from prison. However, in November 1992, the Appellate Division...overturned Monserrate and reinstated the conviction. Bianco was returned to prison.

"In March 1993, Monserrate vacated the conviction again and dismissed the charges because of prosecutorial misconduct. The prosecutor announced he would not retry Bianco and Bianco was released."

[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]