Attorney General drops charges in Westport animal abuse case

By Jeffrey D. Wagner Contributing Writer

Posted Sep 24, 2020

Healey’s office says former Lt. Majewski’s credibility is damaged

WESTPORT — The state Attorney General’s office has dropped charges and will discontinue prosecuting 25 defendants charged with more than 150 counts of animal cruelty, following a 2016 landmark animal abuse case on American Legion Highway.

Responding to a status update from the Herald News, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Maura Healey on Wednesday cited a complication in the prosecution — former town police officer, Lt. Jeff Majewski, was put on leave earlier this year and is being investigated by the police department. Healey’s office referred to Majewski as the key witness and his circumstances, though separate from the animal abuse case, would damage the prosecution’s case.

“It has been our priority from the beginning of this case to ensure that justice is served for the Westport community and the animals that were mistreated. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances surrounding the conduct and credibility of the key witness — the investigating Westport police detective — in connection with another matter, we have determined we must dismiss the charges and terminate the prosecution of these cases,” according to a statement from the AG’s office.

This decision comes while around a dozen defendants awaited trial on animal cruelty charges.

“We reached this conclusion reluctantly, based on the understanding that the facts concerning the detective, whose testimony would be needed at trial to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt, gravely compromised our ability to successfully prosecute these cases. Our office remains committed to prosecuting cases of animal cruelty and abuse,” the AG office also said in a statement.

“Some time ago the town finished its deliberations and was satisfied we had pursued the issues as far as we could go,” Westport Selectmen Chairman Richard Brewer said on Wednesday. “The Attorney General’s actions were a separate matter and we have no further comments on their decision.”

According to Herald News reports, Majewski was put on paid administrative leave in February as the department investigates whether “a consensual relationship” he had with two unidentified women violated department policy, a police spokesman said.

Majewski was formerly the department’s public information officer, and in that role made public statements to members of the media about Westport police matters and cases.

“I was told by an ex-girlfriend that she wasn’t going to be happy until I lost my job and was on the other side of the news. I understand why I was placed on leave and hope that the facts come out at the end of the investigation,” Majewski said in a February statement. 

Majewski, after 30 years on the Westport force, retired in May.

The AG statement also said in its release that the department reviewed primary source investigatory materials connected to Majewski’s case and decided not to proceed with the animal cruelty case.

The AG release cited Rule 3.8 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys: a “prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. This responsibility carries with it [the] specific obligation to see ... that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence.”

Reached Wednesday via email, Majewski said that there were “dozens of officers working on (the case) besides me and it occurred in 2016.”

Constance Gee, an animal rights activist in town, also said in a statement that there is plenty of evidence and documentation without the testimony of the case’s “lead detective.”

“That the remaining cases have been dismissed because of the lead detective’s personal indiscretions does not negate the reality of what was found and meticulously documented, first in 2010 (on the same property) and again in 2016. The cold hard fact is human beings are capable of unimaginable cruelty toward animals,” Gee said in an email. “And that is why we must have tighter and more comprehensive laws and harsher mandatory sentencing for animal abusers.”

Gee on Wednesday released photos that were presented in court in June 2019 but not released previously. She further released police statements — also read in court — that further illustrate the animal abuse. 

Gee said these reports, never previously released, also would aid the prosecution.

“The smell of ammonia and feces was overpowering. A feed trough located near the entrance in this area (of the farm) was filled with moldy bread. Feces near the trough was over 12 inches deep,” it read.

“The unspeakable cruelty on the Medeiros property happened. Men and women starved animals to death,” Gee also said in her statement.

According to background released by the AG’s office, Healey’s office in March 2017 indicted the owner of a Westport Farm — Richard Medeiros — and 26 tenants who rented space on the property on 151 counts of animal cruelty, making it the largest investigation of its kind in New England.

In 2018, Richard Medeiros, the property owner, died. Scottie Medeiros, a tenant but with no relation to Richard Medeiros, also died during the course of the prosecution, according to the AG’s office.

In June 2019, 13 defendants resolved their cases, with 10 pleading guilty and three admitting to sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilty, and their cases were continued without a finding, according to the AG’s office, adding that Healey’s office pushed for maximum allowable sentencing guidelines — including jail time for the majority of defendants.

There were 11 defendants who were going to trial but now will escape it, according to the AG’s office.

“Never forget: The largest animal abuse case in New England’s history happened here in Westport. That is why we must always have in place means by which to check on the situation and health of all farm animals within our town, and must hold officials who fail to do their job in that regard accountable,” Gee also said.