Bonilla not guilty on all charges

Sept. 30--SALEM, Mass. -- Suspended Lawrence police officer Melix Bonilla walked out of Superior Court a free man Tuesday afternoon.

A jury Tuesday acquitted him of all counts in his corruption trial.

Bonilla, former campaign manager for ex-Mayor William Lantigua, was charged in the illegal swap of 12 city-owned cars for four Chevy Impalas. Bonilla, who was deputy police chief at the time, was accused of arranging the swap of the dozen cars, seized in police investigations, for the four Impalas provided by Bernardo Pena, a Lantigua friend, political supporter and owner of Santo Domingo Motors in Lawrence.

The criminal felony trial started last Wednesday in Salem Superior Court and spanned three days.

The jury deliberated for just a bit over six hours.

"I'm very happy," Bonilla said moments after the judge released him.

He bowed his head and seemed to sob a bit as the verdict was announced.

None of his family members were in court for the verdict, but a close friend, Euclides Polanco, was with him, and they hugged.

Pena, testifying as a prosecution witness, said he made $29,445 profit in the swap deal.

On Monday, shortly before the case went to jurors for deliberation, Judge Timothy Feeley withdrew a conspiracy charge that directly involved Bonilla and Lantigua. The charge alleged Bonilla conspired with Lantigua to violate the state's procurement law.

But Feeley said prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence to support the conspiracy charge. Another charge, larceny of property valued over $250, was also withdrawn.

The remaining charges against Bonilla, a married father of four children, were extortion, fraud and violation of the state's procurement law. Extortion, the most serious charge, carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison and fines.

After jury selection on Tuesday, Sept. 23, the trial opened the following day. Prosecution witnesses included Pena, retired Police Chief John Romero, Lawrence Police Capt. Roy Vasque, Detective Horace Privitera and Walter Callahan, a procurement employee for the city of Lawrence.

However, the prosecution's key witness was considered Jay Jackson, the fired civilian facilities director at the police department and former unpaid, volunteer police chief.

Jackson testified that he was demeaned, degraded and forced into working with Bonilla on the car swap deal. He had a heart attack four years ago and Jackson said he feared being fired from his job and losing his health insurance.

On Monday, after the prosecution rested, Bonilla took the stand as the defense's only witness.

Bonilla testified that he had spoken with numerous times with Romero and Vasque about the details of the car swap. He denied ever threatening Jackson, saying he considered him a friend. The two ate lunch together "every single day," he said.

Vasque was called as a rebuttal witness, saying he had one conversation with Bonilla about his swap plans. Vasque said he was told to provide keys and paperwork on the seized cars to Jackson, which he did. Vasque testified he had no other involvement in the car swap.

Bonilla's testimony also contradicted Romero. Romero, on the second day of trial, testified Bonilla told him about the car swap plan and he told him to explore the idea and get back to him.

Romero said he later learned the car swap was a done deal and alerted the FBI, which was already investigating allegations of corruption involving Lantigua and members of his administration.

Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.

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