OFFICER: I SAW JAIL BEATING

Agrees To Testify Against 2 Accused In Inmate's Death

Facing the threat of life behind bars, a Nassau County corrections
officer admitted yesterday that he stood lookout a year ago and
watched as two of his colleagues allegedly beat an inmate to death.

In a dramatic turn that could prove devastating to his co-defendants,
Ivano Bavaro agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and testify
against the two officers charged with the death of Thomas Pizzuto, a
recovering heroin addict who had been begging for methadone.

At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Uniondale yesterday, Bavaro
pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice,
for which he could face up to 15 years imprisonment. In exchange,
prosecutors dropped more serious charges of civil rights violations
and Bavaro promised to provide his account of Officers Edward
Velazquez and Patrick Regnier repeatedly beating Pizzuto in his cell
at the jail in East Meadow.

Nervous and tearful as he read from a brief statement, Bavaro told
Judge Jacob Mishler that on Jan. 8, 1999, he, Velazquez and Regnier
walked down the tier to Pizzuto's cell. He said he stood outside to
prevent the recovering heroin addict from escaping and blocked other
inmates' view of the attack as he watched the two officers repeatedly
strike the inmate.

Bavaro said his presence likely intimidated the inmates from speaking
out. And he said that on Jan. 14, a day after Pizzuto died of a
lacerated spleen, he and Velazquez approached Officer Richard Tirino,
a new recruit working the tier, who has also agreed to cooperate with
prosecutors, and told him that "nothing happened. You got it, nothing
happened that day."

The testimony, two weeks before the scheduled start of jury selection,
radically alters the landscape of the federal civil rights case,
bolstering an already detailed prosecution.

"There are no more questions now," Pizzuto's brother Anthony said
after hearing Bavaro's admission in the courtroom. "The correction
officer is telling you that he was right outside the door. He saw the
beating. What more do you want."

"We are glad the truth finally came out. If there was any doubt, there
isn't now."

Even before Bavaro's change of heart, defense lawyers had to overcome
incriminating statements Pizzuto made before he died, inmate accounts
of seeing the officers and hearing a beating, medical evidence of a
homicide and testimony from Tirino and Cpl. Gary Pincus, a cellblock
supervisor who said he saw the officers at the cell and heard the
alleged attack. In an agreement with prosecutors Pincus pleaded guilty
to witnessing a crime and failing to report it, and has since resigned
fromthe jail.

"Without Bavaro there was a compelling case. With Bavaro, it's lights
out," said one lawyer familiar with the case.

Edward Jenks, the Mineola lawyer who represents Bavaro, said that
after reviewing voluminous, damaging discovery material, his client
decided that "to prevail at trial would be an uphill battle."

"The remaining defendants are going to have to assess the weight of
the evidence and determine whether a trial is in their best
interests," said Jenks, who was acting as lead counsel in the case.
"My independent judgment is that the evidence is overwhelming
concerning the assault and that a viable defense is not within easy
reach."

Regnier's attorney, Ernest Peace, could not be reached yesterday, and
Dennis Lemke, the Mineola lawyer who represents Velazquez, would not
comment on whether his client was now considering a plea.

But he said that Bavaro's cooperation "comes as a complete surprise
and Eddie Velazquez maintains his innocence."

"I am unaware of what Mr. Bavaro has exactly said," Lemke said. "Is it
the truth or something that will protect him from going to trial and
facing a life sentence?"

Bavaro, 32, and the other officers all had pleaded not guilty and were
suspended without pay after their arrests in May. Acting Nassau
Sheriff Peter Heelan said yesterday that he had not seen Bavaro's plea
agreement but would consider further disciplinary action when he reviews it.

Under the agreement, Bavaro remains free on $250,000 bond. Though he
faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, Mishler will have wide latitude
in sentencing and legal experts said Bavaro could receive far less.

A fourth defendant, Cpl. Joseph Bergen, is charged with attempting to
later cover up the attack by filing false reports that Pizzuto, 38,
who had been serving 90 days for driving under the influence, slipped
and fell in the shower.

His attorney, Benedict Gullo of Uniondale, said that the case against
the veteran jail supervisor is only "tangentially tied" with the other
officers and that Bavaro's testimony does not harm his defense.

"My client wasn't there," Gullo said. "So what Bavaro wants to say as
far as that doesn't really matter."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Brown, who is prosecuting the case,
declined to comment yesterday. He has said in the past that he expects
the trial to last about two to three weeks.

Federal authorities stepped into the case shortly after Pizzuto died,
vowing to also conduct a wide-ranging probe of the jail, the largest
in the state outside New York City.

The broad investigation, which spans everything from inmate medical
care to complaints of brutality, is in its seventh month and could
force changes at a jail that has long been ineffective at handling
allegations of mistreatment.

"Law enforcement and oversight from Mineola to Albany fell down on the
job and hopefully now with a conviction here ... and outside federal
oversight, perhaps Nassau County can turn the corner," said Peter
Neufeld, one of the Pizzuto family attorneys, who is preparing a civil
suit against the county. "But what's tragic here is that it took the
loss of a man's life."