Mongielo acquitted on most charges

March 08--David J. Mongielo has been acquitted on four of the five charges from his June 27 arrest at a Lockport Police traffic checkpoint, with his only conviction being a cellphone violation.

A six-person Lockport City Court jury took about two-and-a-half hours to decide the case Friday. The jury announced its verdict shortly after 1 p.m., after which Judge William J. Watson sentenced Mongielo to a maximum fine of $150 and an $88 state surcharge. He has until May 7 to pay the fine.

Mongielo, 47, of Day Road, was found guilty of one count of unlawful use of a portable device while driving. He was cleared on the other portable device count, as well as the other charges of harassment, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest. He could have seen a maximum sentence of a year in Niagara County Jail if convicted.

Mongielo also had been charged with driving without a valid registration, but that charge was dismissed Thursday by Watson. That's because prosecutors didn't provide any evidence supporting the charge during the four-day trial, despite Mongielo admitting to it on the witness stand Thursday.

Mongielo wept at the defense table after the verdict for each charge was read.

"I was always innocent. I trusted God would stand behind me," Mongielo said after court.

"We regard this as a vindication of our client and a demonstration of how well the jury system works," said Mongielo's attorney Frank T. Housh.

Mongielo was arrested in June on Lincoln Avenue, where police set up a checkpoint designed to look for registration, cellphone and seatbelt violations.

The first time Mongielo went through the checkpoint, he took a brief video with his phone. In that video, Mongielo is heard asking Officer William Jones, "This isn't Nazi Germany, is it?"

Even so, Jones waved him through the checkpoint. About 30 minutes later, Mongielo returned, going in the opposite direction, on his way from home to work. According to testimony from retired Lt. David Barrancotta, Mongielo drove up with his arm out the window of his truck, holding a phone. Barrancotta said he noticed Mongielo's registration sticker was expired.

Mongielo was told to pull over and Jones testified that he asked Mongielo three times for his license, registration and insurance card. Jones said Mongielo didn't comply, so he asked Mongielo three times to get out of the truck. He refused again, so Jones reached in to unbuckle the seat belt and Mongielo allegedly pushed his hand away.

Jones and Officer Kevin Lucinski said they removed Mongielo from the vehicle and searched him for weapons before Jones took Mongielo to the ground because he wasn't cooperating with the search. Mongielo, who was treated for facial and leg injuries, testified that Jones used his knee against the back of his head slamming him into the pavement five or six times. Mongielo said he never knew if or when he was under arrest.

"I feel bad for the past victims of the city police," Mongielo said. "There needs to be some internal affairs department staffed by the people, not the politicians."

Mongielo's other legal battle over his auto shop sign continues, however.

Later on Friday, Mongielo appeared in Niagara County Court before Judge Matthew J. Murphy III for a hearing on his appeal of the 10-day jail sentence that he received January in Lockport Town Court.

Murphy said Housh had sent a notice of appeal to Nancy Brooks at the Lockport Town Court, but Brooks is the town clerk and has no duties related to the court. The notice was never received by the court clerk, the judge said.

Housh said the notice was mailed in a timely manner to the court with all of the right information, with the exception of Brooks' name. The parties will return to Murphy's courtroom March 14 to determine if the appeal will be allowed to continue.

In the meantime, Murphy granted a stay of the sentence.

Back in January, Mongielo was sentenced for breaking a term of the conditional discharge he'd received in 2010 when he was sentenced for his first violation of the Town of Lockport's electronic sign ordinance. The ordinance bans electronic signs that change message or format more than once every 10 minutes.

While under the one-year conditional discharge, Mongielo was charged with violating the sign ordinance a second time in August 2011. The electronic sign in front of Mongielo's business on Robinson Road reportedly was used to show a video advertising a fundraiser.

Mongielo was convicted of that second ordinance violation in a December 2011 nonjury trial, but in September 2012, Murphy overturned that conviction, saying Mongielo was entitled to a jury trial. A new trial date hasn't been set.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241 or follow him on Twitter @joeolenick.

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