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GREENBURGH, N.Y. A federal judge ruled that a $5 million lawsuit filed by a former dominatrix against members of the Greenburgh Police Department can proceed to trial.
In January 2006, Gina Pane was arrested in the Greenburgh Multiplex parking lot along Route 9A and charged with possession of marijuana and driving while intoxicated. When police officers learned that she worked as a dominatrix, Pane has said, they allegedly harassed her at the station. One, a now-former police officer, Erik Ward, offered to have the charges against her dropped in exchange for kinky sexual favors, Pane has said.
She filed a $5 million lawsuit against six members of the Greenburgh Police Department. Federal Magistrate Lisa Margaret Smith ruled that the case against two of the defendants, Ward and Sgt. Robert Gramaglia, can go to trial.
"What satisfies me is that [most of the] officers are completely out of the case now," said Greenburgh Police Chief Joseph DeCarlo. "The unfortunate thing is that it's able to go to trial and is still under litigation. I would like to have the whole thing exonerated. It's something that happened years ago, and it's unfortunate that it's still being litigated."
The town attorney's office is currently working with the police department and has brought in Brian Murphy as outside council. Gramaglia is being represented by Tom Troetti.
"We're happy about the Pane decision, for the most part, pertaining to having the claims against the town dismissed," said Timothy Lewis, Greenburgh's town attorney, about Pane's $5 million lawsuit. "We would have liked to have had complete summary judgment in regards to Police Officer Erik Ward and Sgt. Robert Gramaglia."
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said the town board will discuss what actions to take at its upcoming work session on Tuesday and that he could not comment further until then.
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