City council studies possibility of Cuvo settlement
Cuvo’s lawyer: No deal for less than $1M.
By JEFF SCHOGOL
The Express-Times
EASTON — City council met behind closed doors Tuesday to talk about the potential for a settlement with Jack Cuvo, a local wrestling legend who has sued the city alleging police brutality.
Little information was available Tuesday on what council discussed.
Solicitor William Murphy said the city has no potential settlement offer in mind at this time and only wants to discuss the possibility of pursuing one.
On Oct. 9, 2001, Cuvo led police on a 14-block, low-speed chase that ended with a struggle with police when Cuvo refused to get out of his vehicle.
Cuvo’s attorney, John Karoly, has said his client was the victim of an “unprovoked criminal attack by the police.”
Prosecutors later withdrew a simple assault charge against Cuvo when Northampton County Judge William F. Moran threw out charges of resisting arrest and fleeing police in March 2003.
In August 2003, Cuvo filed a federal lawsuit naming as defendants former police Capt. John Mazzeo; former Mayor Thomas Goldsmith; police officers Salvatore Crisafulli, Steven Homoki Sr., Joseph Nunes and Charles Leauber; police Sergeant John Kichline; former police Chief Lawrence Palmer; and the city of Easton.
Cuvo won national recognition as a wrestler for East Stroudsburg University and at Easton Area High School. Cuvo won three state wrestling championships in high school and two national championships at East Stroudsburg. He is believed to be the first high school athlete to earn All-America honors in three sports: cross country, wrestling and track.
The civil case is scheduled for trial April 4.
Karoly has said he has been offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle the suit, but it is not enough.
“We’re seeking more than $1 million, “he has said.
Also Tuesday, council received a partnership agreement for joint development of the Bushkill Creek Corridor from Third to 13th Street, said Stu Gallaher, chief of staff for Mayor Phil Mitman.
Terms of the agreement were unavailable Tuesday because the city’s solicitor had not yet reviewed it, said Council President Sandra Vulcano.
Council will receive a presentation on the proposed agreement in two weeks, she said.
Since 1998, Lafayette College has spent $8.5 million to buy properties on Third Street at the foot of College Hill to renovate vacant buildings for commercial uses.
Reached at home Tuesday, Lafayette College spokesman Roger Clow had no additional information on the agreement.
Also Tuesday, council agreed to vote today on joining Bethlehem police in applying for a roughly $62,000 grant.
The Easton Police Department would receive about $27,000 of the money, which would go toward equipment that includes bulletproof vests and portable radio supplies, said City Clerk Tom Hess.
Vulcano said council agreed to vote on the matter today because “we never want to lose any grant money if we can get it.”
Wrestling Gear
