New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN , Conn. — A judge Thursday told former developer Angelo Reyes he saw “good attributes” in his community service but “a very dark side to your character” as he sentenced Reyes to serve 15 years in prison for second-degree arson and related conspiracy charges stemming from fires set in his Fair Haven neighborhood in 2008 and 2009.
Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue imposed a 25-year sentence but specified it would be suspended after Reyes served 15 years. He would then face five years of probation.
Reyes in October was found guilty of all five counts he faced, including two counts of second-degree arson, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary. Reyes, 49, had insisted on his innocence and took the witness stand to defend himself during his trial .
Reyes was again outspoken during his sentencing hearing Thursday. He told Blue, “I respectfully ask that you please consider all the good that I’ve done. I have spent close to two decades making a positive difference.”
In his two-page statement, which he read slowly, stopping often to compose himself, Reyes did not concede he had committed any crimes.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney John P. Doyle Jr. noted during the hearing that Reyes has given many interviews to reporters throughout the long legal process. “But nowhere in these accounts is there acceptance of responsibility for what occurred.”
The sentence imposed was cushioned by Blue’s decision to continue the $1 million appeal bond, made possible through real estate properties held by Reyes’ family. Thus Reyes was able to walk out of court with his wife, Irma, and his friends rather than being led off in handcuffs to prison. The appeals process will take about 1-2 years.
Doyle Thursday asked Blue that there not be an appeal bond or that it be raised to $5 million. Doyle said he is concerned about “the risk of flight.”
But defense attorney John R. Williams told Blue it’s “inconceivable that Mr. Reyes would abscond.” He noted Reyes earlier surrendered his passport and has always reported to court on time.
Blue said a $1 million bond in a case where there were no injuries is “almost unprecedented.” He added, “It’s a great deal of money.”
Williams also represented Reyes during his federal trial in October 2013 on arson charges at other Fair Haven properties. The federal jury in Hartford acquitted Reyes on all nine counts.
Unlike in Reyes’ federal trial, jurors in the trial on state charges apparently believed the testimony by Osvaldo Segui Jr., the key prosecution witness, as well as his father.
Segui Jr. testified Reyes hired him to set fire to a house at 95 Downing St. and to torch a car in front of 979 Quinnipiac Ave. The younger Segui Jr. said Reyes wanted to reclaim control of the house and build a duplex there. As for the car fire, Segui Jr. said Reyes had had a neighborhood dispute with the vehicle’s owner, Madeline Vargas.
Williams had told state jurors in his closing argument that Segui Jr.’s testimony, as well as that of Osvaldo Segui Sr., should not be believed because they had made an agreement with authorities to testify against Reyes in exchange for lesser prison time.
But prosecutors said it made no sense that Segui Jr. and his father would concoct accounts of being hired to commit arson. Segui Sr. worked for Reyes.
When court convened Thursday morning, those in attendance included police officers who had worked on the case for years and firefighters. Former New Haven Fire Chief Michael Grant also was there.
Blue noted at the outset the sentencing ranges for the five counts. Reyes could have received a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison.
Doyle, who was seeking a substantial sentence, recalled testimony that Reyes ordered Vargas’ car set on fire because she and Reyes had quarreled over whether a lot near one of his properties should be used to help drug addicts.
“He felt he’d been disrespected,” Doyle said. “Most people would have walked away. Mr. Reyes did not.” Six months later, Doyle added, Reyes hired Segui Jr. to burn the BMW.
Doyle said the car was parked only about 10-15 feet from Vargas’ house and could have injured members of the family, including Vargas’ grandson, if the vehicle had blown up.
Vargas read a statement during Thursday’s hearing in which she said, “My life was changed completely” by what she termed a “malicious” attack. Close to tears, Vargas said, “I want the court to keep this man away from my family. Mr. Reyes, all I can say to you is, may God forgive you for all the harm you have caused my family and others.” (After court adjourned, Vargas said, “Justice has prevailed.I just wish the sentence would start today. I’m still in shock.”)
When Doyle talked about the fire at 95 Downing St., which was being renovated at the time, he said 35-40 firefighters risked injury or death by responding to the scene and residents of nearby houses also were endangered.
The man who was renovating that house, Robert Lopez, was called forward by Doyle to talk about the 2 1/2 years he spent rebuilding it, at great expense to him. “My family went through hell and back,” he said.
Doyle asserted Reyes ordered the house burned because he wanted to take it over and profit from its use.
Doyle told Blue that despite the letters sent to the court praising Reyes’ good deeds for the community, “This was community development by arson. Under the guise of improving the community, he improved his own situation.”
But Williams called upon two character witnesses: Paul Wessel, a former city economic development official, and Murray Trachten, who has been Reyes’ attorney for more than 20 years.
Wessel said Reyes “went to extraordinary lengths to take over buildings that were important to the neighborhood that nobody else would touch. The picture the prosecution is painting is not the man I have known for 15 years.”
Trachten rebutted Doyle’s view that Reyes was motivated by his desire for profit when handling his properties. Trachten recalled how Reyes turned down a higher rent to bring in a medical tenant needed in Fair Haven.
When Reyes rose and spoke, he began by saying he felt “humiliated and ashamed” because he had disappointed “so many people whose lives I’ve touched and changed in a positive way.” He described himself as “a caregiver and humanitarian.”
“Most important, I’m sorry for hurting my family...It’s a constant battle within me of regret, shame and sorrow.”
Reyes said his teenage son “is at an age where he needs his father the most” and that his daughter, who is at a pre-nursing school in Florida, became ill because of the stress of Reyes’ legal problems. He said his wife for the past 18 years “has relied on me for support while she establishes her career.” She cried quietly while he read his statement.
Reyes said he has lost over $1 million in equity during his legal saga. “I stand here before you, a man who has had everything taken away through foreclosure. To drive by and see and be reminded every day is torture all in itself.”
Blue told Reyes he was “touched” by the supportive letters and oral testimony. “But you’ve been convicted of serious crimes and you have an extensive criminal history.” Blue noted the convictions for narcotics and other crimes stretch back to 1983.
Then, talking about “a very dark side to your character,” Blue said, “unless you address this, you are doomed to come before me or another judge in the future.”
After adjournment, Williams said he considered it a fair sentence but said there are many issues on which he can appeal the convictions. He said this includes prosecutors asserting gasoline qualifies as carrying a dangerous weapon or “instrument” and Blue’s refusal to let jurors know the Seguis “have a history of making false accusations.”
But Doyle, who said he was “very satisfied” with the sentence, added he is confident Blue’s decisions during the trial and the convictions will withstand scrutiny by the appeals court.
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