TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF TONI MARIE ANGELI ON CHARGES STEMMING FROM AN INCIDENT AT ZONA PHOTOGRAPHIC LABORATORIES ON NOVEMBER 2, 1995, BETWEEN ZONA EMPLOYEES, TONI MARIE ANGELI AND THE CAMBRIDGE POLICE.
JOHN G. SWOMLEY, ESQ.
SWOMLEY & DOHERTY
83 ATLANTIC AVENUE
BOSTON MA 02110
617/227-9443
FAX: 617/523-7554
Ms. Angeli's trial began on January 24, 1996. On January 30, 1996, a jury of six acquitted Ms. Angeli of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. They convicted her of disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property under $250. At sentencing, the District Attorney Marilee Denelle recommended that the court order Ms. Angeli to write a letter of apology to Zona, to pay Zona triple the "actual" damages to their property, and she offered the court a letter from Zona owners Rowena Otremba and Mary Osgood which recommended the court require Ms. Angeli to undergo counseling and therapy. After a brief recess which the court granted to enable the Commonwealth to secure the presence of the Zona owners, should they wish to personally address the court, sentencing continued. Ms. Angeli's attorney was given the opportunity to make a recommendation. He recommended that Ms. Angeli not be punished further. He was ruled out of order by the court when he argued that his client had been punished enough by the police abuse she suffered. He was ordered to cease argument and sit down and informed by the court that he had lost the right to continue argument because he would not abandon that subject matter. After the court pronounced sentence, Ms. Angeli was left to inform the court herself that she could not pay Zona Photographic Labs the $228.95 the court had just ordered her to pay, and she would not sign a contract with probation agreeing to do so. Ms. Angeli was jailed summarily by Judge Sragow. Judge Sragow continued sentencing until after the lunch recess to give Ms. Angeli time to reconsider. After two hours in a women's holding cell, Ms. Angeli was returned to the court and asked whether she would sign the probation agreement. She responded that because she was innocent she could not accept a punishment which required her to perform affirmative acts consistent with guilt.
Ms. Angeli was sentenced to 30 days in MCI Framingham.
The basic figure of $228.95 is what Zona says it will cost them to replace a hollow core door and repair a door knob hole in a sheetrock wall.
On January 31, 1996, Judge Sragow denied Ms. Angeli's motion to stay execution of the sentence pending appeal. An appeal to a single justice of the Appeals Court is being prepared.
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