Abner Louima - Criminal Trials

Criminal Trials

NYPD officer Justin Volpe initially pleaded not guilty to several counts of violating Louima's civil rights, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to police. Midway through the trial, Volpe changed his plea to guilty, confessing to having sodomized Louima. Despite the fact that Louima had several broken teeth, Volpe denied that he ever struck Louima in the mouth with the stick and claimed that he only put it very close to Louima's mouth. Volpe also admitted that he had threatened Louima's life. On December 13, 1999, Volpe was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, a $525 fine and restitution in the amount of $277,495.

Charles Schwarz was convicted on June 27, 2000 for helping Volpe assault Louima in the bathroom and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. At the time of his conviction, there were numerous questions raised about whether he could receive a fair trial in the highly charged atmosphere. Volpe identified Thomas Wiese, not Schwarz, as the second man in a recorded interview on news show 60 Minutes, a fact not brought up in the trial. The conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which found that Schwarz was denied a fair trial. However, in 2002 he pleaded guilty to a perjury charge for testifying that he did not lead Louima to the bathroom, and was sentenced to five years in prison. His request for leniency was rejected on March 30, 2006. He was released to a halfway house in February 2007 with plans to move to the northern United States to work as a carpenter.

Three other NYPD officers, Thomas Bruder, Michael Bellomo and Thomas Wiese were indicted for their involvement in trying to cover up the assault. On March 9, 2000, Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder along with Charles Schwarz were convicted on the charge of conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation into the assault on Louima, but their conviction was reversed by a federal appeals court in February 2002 on the grounds of insufficient evidence. Michael Bellomo was found not guilty of trying to cover up the beating of Louima and that of another Haitian immigrant by Volpe earlier that evening.

Volpe is currently serving his 30-year sentence at a minimum security facility at the Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman in Florida and is scheduled for release in 2025.