Rochester, N.Y. -- The trial of former Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn is underway with opening arguments finished and testimony beginning.
Assistant District Attorney Sandra Doorley alleged that Rahn repeatedly violated the trust of his post, while defense attorney John Parrinello attempted to explain away the case as a political witch hunt.
In the sometimes tense courtroom Thursday morning, Parrienllo said Rahn is not a suspect, but a scapegoat for Greece Town Supervisor John Auberger, who is running for re-election, as a way to explain away these criminal scandals during an election year. But it's a theory the judge won't allow jurors to hear.
Auberger is expected to take the stand in the case. And it’s possible that Rochester mayor Bob Duffy may also be called to testify.
But the prosecution’s case against Rahn focuses on 12 charges of wrongdoing while leading the force, including being accused of falsifying a background check, lying about the theft of his service gun, and trying to impede the investigation of a crash involving an off-duty Greece police officer.
In the days after a hit and run crash involving Nick Joseph, prosecutors say Rahn mislead the district attorney's office into thinking it was not a serious crash. Even though other officers brought concerns about Joseph's alcohol and cocaine use, Rahn allegedly told them the District Attorney's office said there was no basis for criminal charges.
Joseph was sentenced to 3+ to 7 years in prison after being found guilty of seven charges last year, including leaving the scene of an accident, driving while impaired by cocaine, and possession of cocaine, all related to a hit-and-run accident on Route I-390 that caused a woman to deliver her baby 14 weeks early.
“The evidence is going to show that as the chief of police for the Greece Police Department, Merritt Rahn was required and expected to lead with integrity and honesty, to abide by the laws of the state, and certainly to follow the rules and regulations of the Greece Police Department. Not to cover up, not to mislead, but to act with trust and to live with the truth,” Doorley said. “And this is what this case is about. This case is about the violation of those duties as the Greece police chief.”
Rahn resigned from the job in October, and he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial is expected to last two and a half weeks.
