DEFIANT EX-COP HEADED TO PRISON

Michael Hamilton Sentenced To 4 Years On Drug-related Charges Stemming From
FBI Probe

UTICA -- One of the most decorated officers in the history of the
Schenectady Police Department and the highest-ranking cop to be caught in
the FBI's police corruption probe was sentenced Thursday to 4 years in prison.

Former Lt. Michael Hamilton is the last of four officers to be sentenced in
an investigation that has brought years of scrutiny to the troubled department.

"You are undoubtedly one of the best and brightest police officers anyone
will ever come but for some reason you failed your community," U.S.
District Judge David Hurd told Hamilton in a courtroom packed with the
ex-cop's family, friends and almost two dozen police officers.

Hamilton's voice cracked as he stepped in front of his four lawyers to
address the judge. "You obviously don't know the whole story about Mike
Hamilton," he said. "I come from a good family, hardworking. I was taught
right from wrong at an early age. I was taught to be good to people who are
less fortunate, and that's why I became a police officer."

He offered no apologies for his crimes. Later, he spoke to reporters on the
courthouse steps as defiant as he was when he was indicted last spring.

"I did absolutely nothing wrong," he said.

Hamilton, 35, is scheduled to report to a not-yet-designated federal prison
on June 20, the same day as his co-defendant, Nick Messere, who was
sentenced last week to slightly more than two years on a drug charge. The
two cops once led the department in drug arrests, earning the nickname "the
Dynamic Duo."

A federal jury convicted Hamilton in January for aiding and abetting a
crack house. He warned his informant that her crack house was under
surveillance, endangering the lives of cops who were watching the house,
according to testimony. Prosecutors and probation officials recommended
Hamilton serve 6 to 8 years in prison, but Hurd agreed to depart from the
guidelines, citing more than 100 letters written on Hamilton's behalf.

Among those writing letters were Assistant Chief Mark Chaires and District
Attorney Bob Carney, who is reviewing hundreds of drug and gun cases to see
whether they have been tainted by illegal police work. Assistant U.S.
Attorney John Katko had stern words for Chaires on Thursday. "He was
offering his opinion on the quality of the evidence without ever stepping
foot in the courtroom," said Katko, noting that Chaires' letter minimized
the seriousness of Hamilton's crime. Chaires did not attend the trial.

Ordinary citizens, even those Hamilton had arrested in his 11-year career,
wrote in support.

"If it were not for Michael Hamilton, I would surely be dead or worse,
still an addict," Michael Quinn wrote. "All he ever wanted was to make the
place we all lived safe and drug-free."

But the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the
family of Willy Marhafer wrote letters stinging with criticism, accusing
Hamilton of leading younger officers astray and sending a message to the
cops who patrolled Hamilton Hill that they were above the law. Marhafer was
scheduled to testify against Hamilton when he took his gun out of his
station locker last fall and killed himself.

Sheila Marhafer, Willy's mother, glared at the cops as they filed out of
the courtroom.

"Not one of you were there for Willy, not one of you," she said.

She also said she felt little sympathy for Hamilton's mother, who left the
courtroom sobbing. "Her boy is still here," she said. "Mine is gone."

Hamilton's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, has vowed to appeal, saying prosecutors
withheld exculpatory evidence and the judge erred in his interpretation of
the law.

Officer Edward Ritz, who has been on administrative leave since last fall,
was one of the cops who attended the sentencing. Former officer Michael
Siler told the FBI last fall that Ritz had once given a prostitute crack
cocaine in exchange for information. So far, no criminal charges have been
filed.

While Hamilton is the last officer to be sentenced on criminal charges, the
FBI has refused to declare its investigation over. The department still
faces a civil rights investigation by the Justice Department. Last week,
officials visited the city to begin their investigation into complaints of
police brutality and unconstitutional search and seizure. The investigation
will take a broad look at department policy and training over the past five
years.