Prosecutors in "Flaco" trial say support of UPD helped ease the tension while awaiting a verdict

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flaco trial

By PAT BAILEY

Story Created: Mar 21, 2008 at 3:00 PM EST

Story Updated: Mar 21, 2008 at 9:20 PM EST

UTICA - The trial itself lasted 10 days, while the jury took a day and a half - over 17 hours - to deliberate before reaching the guilty verdict.

The three members of the district attorney's office who prosecuted this case say it was certainly difficult to wait that long to hear a verdict. However, they say they felt somewhat at ease, with the support they received from the Utica Police Department.

All week and especially last night, the Utica Police Department had a large number of officers, including Chief C. Allen Pylman, in the courtroom.

The trial was based on testimony from over 40 witnesses, no real convincing physical evidence. Because of that, lead prosecutor Laurie Lisi, says she and her two co-chair prosecutors had to turn to their main witness, Sammy Manuel Rivera - the man who Officer Lindsey pulled over on Neilson Street on April 12.

Lisi says the staff used his strong testimony and other smaller evidence combined to make their case, while the defendant - Wesley Molina Cirino, also known as "Flaco" - didn't help his own cause.

"The fact that there were so many inconsistencies in his statement and that the more they pressed him, the more information he gave them...that led them to believe 'Hey, this isn't just somebody that has information...this is our guy...this is the shooter...this is the guy in the white hoodie,'" Lisi said.

Lisi says this was, and will probably be the biggest case in her career as a prosecutor. The case, of course, didn't just fall into place - Lisi says she and her team worked every day since the arrest of Flaco in July.

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