Wilfredo Ocasio disclosed during the jury vetting process that he had been an inmate at the former York Street Jail.
The federal courthouse on State Street in Springfield.SPRINGFIELD — The mystery of the missing Powerade at the federal courthouse wasn’t very mysterious for long.
A jury foreman in a wrongful death trial last week was booted from the panel on his first day for allegedly lifting several cases of Powerade, bottled water and other soft drinks from the parking lot while surveillance cameras rolled, according to officials.
Wilfredo Ocasio, a machine operator from Springfield, was chosen as leader of an eight-member panel on May 7 in U.S. District Court, court records state. The same day, however, Ocasio was caught on camera in the secure parking lot in the rear of the building at 300 State St. backing his SUV into a spot and loading several cases of unattended beverages into the trunk, said Edward McDonough, a defense lawyer in the civil trial.
The lawsuit was brought by the spouse of a female inmate who had died of cardiac arrest prompted by drug withdrawal while in the custody of the Hampden County House of Corrections in Ludlow in 2005. Jurors found the jail was not liable for the inmate’s death.
McDonough on Wednesday said he was pleased with the jury’s verdict, but agreed that the apparently thirsty former foreman was a bizarre twist in the case.
“I’ve never had anything happen like that in all my years of trying cases. I couldn’t believe it,” when U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor told lawyers of the surveillance tape and his decision to dismiss the juror.
McDonough added the Ocasio disclosed during the jury vetting process that he had been an inmate at the former York Street Jail two decades ago, but had a relatively satisfying experience there — so McDonough opted not to challenge Ocasio as a member of the panel.
“I thought: I have three preemptories — what do I do? He seemed like a nice fella, so I decide to keep him. But when the judge told us what happened, I said: I knew I should have gotten rid of that guy,” the lawyer joked.
U.S. Marshals confirmed that Ocasio has been served with a summons, but the precise charge he will face is unclear. No date has yet been set for his appearance. What would undoubtedly be a trivial accusation in other venues is propelled to the federal case level by virtue of the fact that the alleged incident unfolded on federal property.
Ocasio did not return calls for comment. But, a woman who answered the phone at the address he listed in court records said she was his sister, and that her brother was disappointed over being ejected from the panel.
“He was excited about getting chosen. He said that he thought the drinks had just been left there and they didn’t belong to anyone,” Migdalia Ocasio said. “I told him that things don’t just call from the sky.”
In fact, the Powerade, bottled water and iced tea belonged to an aide in U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal’s office, according to a spokesman for Neal. The employee was in the midst of moving the drinks from one car to another when he ran back into the building, and returned to find they had disappeared.
The congressman’s office is located on the second floor of the same building. Marshals said the surveillance tape showed an SUV drive by the refreshments and back into the space where they sat before a man emerged and loaded the drinks into his car.
The man was later identified as Ocasio, lawyers and federal officials said.
“While our colleagues were surprised and disappointed that their personal items were stolen on federal property, the entire staff is very grateful to the United States Marshals for their professionalism and swift response. They always make the new courthouse on State Street a safe place to work and visit,” said William Tranghese, a spokesman for Neal.
The case will be investigated and handled by agents with the Federal Protective Service, an agency under Homeland Security that provides security to federally owned and leased buildings.
The jury’s verdict came after the panel began bleeding members on the first day of testimony. In addition to Ocasio’s departure, another juror was excused a day later because she reported being overwrought by video introduced into evidence portraying attempts to revive the inmate, Cynthia Brace, 41.
The six-member panel that rendered a verdict was the minimum allowed in a civil case. Typically, there are at least two alternates to provide the court a cushion for unforeseen events such as illness or family emergencies.