Shenandoah [PA] police were accused of previous Hispanic abuse

Chief named in lawsuit over Hispanic man's 2004 death - News - The Times-Tribune

SHENANDOAH

A police chief ordered held without bail on charges he tried to cover up the fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant by white teenagers was named in a 2006 lawsuit that claimed police beat to death a Hispanic teenager, then made it look like a suicide.

Police Chief Matthew Nestor was never charged, but the allegations contained in the suit, in Tuesday's indictment and in other civil claims depict a police department with pervasive hostility to minorities and a penchant for using excessive force.

Police "acted as feudal warlords in this coal town community that people were afraid of," said attorney John Karoly, who represents the parents of 18-year-old David Vega in their federal lawsuit against the borough. Karoly said he wasn't suggesting police were abusive to everyone, "but I would say the pattern certainly starts to appear that minorities took the thrust of their abuse."

The suit names Chief Nestor and Capt. Jamie Gennarini as defendants, as well as the borough of Shenandoah. The officers have denied wrongdoing. A civil trial is scheduled for next summer.

Chief Nestor, 33, and two other officers were charged Tuesday with orchestrating a cover-up as the FBI investigated the fatal attack on Luis Ramirez by a group of high school football players. Capt. Gennarini and Chief Nestor were indicted separately Tuesday in a scheme to extort money from illegal gambling operations.

Past problems

Capt. Gennarini and Capt. Raymond Nestor - the father of the police chief - arrested David Vega at his home shortly before 8:55 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2004, while responding to a report of a domestic dispute, according to court documents.

"While in police custody ... Vega was beaten to death and then hung from the bars of a holding cell to make it appear as if he had committed suicide," the lawsuit said.

Mr. Vega was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m.

His father, Carlos Vega, said Wednesday that he had no doubt what happened to his son. Mr. Vega, a retired chef who moved to Shenandoah 19 years ago, said he's afraid to leave his own house for fear of the police......