The Associated Press
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A judge has dismissed some of the charges against two firefighters accused of pouring gasoline down a firehouse drain before an explosion a few blocks away badly burned two people.
State Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler ruled Monday that there was insufficient proof that the gas disposal caused the May 2004 explosion or that the firefighters, Paul Cappello and Miguel Valle, could have predicted the sequence of events that led to the injuries.
The judge dismissed assault and official misconduct charges against the firefighters after reviewing grand jury records of the case presented by the district attorney’s office.
Cappello and Valle still face charges of reckless endangerment and violating environmental conservation laws. Both pleaded not guilty in December.
Prosecutors said the men were getting rid of the gas because it had been contaminated with water. Authorities alleged that the gasoline flowed through the sewer system to a public housing complex, and that vapors were ignited later the same day by two maintenance workers using an electric pump, leaving both badly burned.
At the time, Cappello was assistant fire chief and a police officer in Sleepy Hollow, about 30 miles northeast of New York City. Valle’s lawyer has described his client as someone who had spent his life aiding others in need.