Ex-cop denied parole in fatal shooting of
friend
A former Eastchester police officer must remain
in prison for at least another two years after he was denied parole in the
fatal shooting of a friend while showing off a laser device on his Glock 9mm
outside the victim's New Rochelle home.
James Pileggi, 34, went before the Parole Board
for the first time last week, hoping to be released this October when he will have
served the minimum of a three- to nine-years sentence for manslaughter in the
Nov. 3, 2009, slaying of Andre Everett.
Instead, the panel of three commissioners ruled
that "parole at this time is inappropriate," according to a decision
released Tuesday by the state Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision.
"The record indicates the weapon was your
police department issued firearm which you carelessly waved back and forth
while off-duty and sitting in a vehicle," the decision read. "This
dangerous and reckless behavior demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety
and welfare of others. As a police officer, you knew better."
Everett was shot once in the throat as he stood
next to Pileggi's car in the driveway of Everett's Albert Place home.
Everett's family has a pending wrongful death
lawsuit against Pileggi, the Town of Eastchester and the Eastchester Police
Department. They lauded the commissioners' decision, citing the
"horrific" circumstances of the shooting as well as Pileggi's prior
use of illegal steroids and his providing a steroid to a fellow officer.
"As our family continues to deal with the
harsh and painful reality that we will never see Andre again, we do appreciate
the limited comfort provided in knowing that Mr. Pileggi's parole request was
denied," the statement read.
Pileggi's relatives and lawyers could not
immediately be reached.
Pileggi is currently at Hudson Correctional
Facility, a medium-security state prison in Columbia County. He has been
incarcerated since Oct. 5, 2011, when the jury in his second trial convicted
him of second-degree manslaughter. The first trial ended in a hung jury.
Pileggi insisted he had emptied his 9mm Glock
26 in the car while taking it apart to show Everett a laser device on the gun.
But he acknowledged on cross-examination that he might have made a mistake in
the order of emptying his weapon