SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The 39-year-old Glenville woman involved in a personal relationship with the Saratoga Springs police chief has retained a lawyer to represent her in a potential civil rights case against the city, the Saratoga Springs Police Department and Police Chief Christopher Cole.
The woman, Laurie Masi, contacted a law firm after Cole publicly identified her as the woman with whom he had exchanged explicit text messages.
Attorney Paul DeLorenzo, of Schenectady, alleged Cole's decision to name Masi was an abuse of his authority and a calculated attempt to cause shame, humiliation and embarrassment to his client.
DeLorenzo said late Friday that he planned to ask for a meeting with city Mayor Scott Johnson and city Public Safety Commissioner Richard Wirth next week, prior to potentially filing a civil action.
"She wants justice," said DeLorenzo, who declined to go into details as to whether that form of justice may include an apology, disciplinary action against the chief or some form of monetary compensation.
"It's about making him accountable. I would like to see what Mr. Cole offers this young woman. He put her name in the press release and that really hurt her," said DeLorenzo, adding that the woman has two children.
Cole, who has served with city police since 1990, was sworn in as chief in December 2009.
He said he became involved in a relationship with Masi in July 2010 and admitted Thursday to exchanging sexually explicit photos with her.
Cole said the photo exchange included one occasion when he texted a photo from his personal cellphone from behind closed doors while in his office at City Hall.
Masi and Cole met through an online dating service and Masi first initiated the exchange of photographs.
DeLorenzo alleges that at some point Masi asked Cole to stop sending her sexually explicit messages and images and that he did not. She contacted the city police department on May 31.
When contacting city police, Masi was told by Lt. Gregory Veitch to contact the office of the public safety commissioner regarding allegations involving the police chief, Wirth said on Friday.
"Here we are on June 10 and she never came forward with any complaints," Wirth said.
A determination on any potential disciplinary action taken against Cole will be made next week, Wirth said.
Masi is not married and Cole said he was legally separated from his wife 3 1/2 years ago.
(15) comments
Wouldn't it be nice if the press just once let this type of story run its course without escalating it. Guy meets girl, guy does stupid thing to impress girl, guy or girl loses interest, girl wants to get even, then guy wants to get even back, now girl wants to sue. Junior high school revisited... move on! If you ask me... the safety of the residents of Saratoga was never in jeopardy. Drop it!
Agreed, and didn't she also send pic?????
For thousands of years, men and women have been doing dumb things in the service of lust or love. Sometimes, someone gets out of control and police need to be called to avert or stop violence. Theres no violence or threat of violence here, and no workplace issue or discrimination. No crime was committed. Just foolish behavior on both their parts. Couldn't these two adults have solved their own problem privately? She could have blocked his number, asked his best friend to tell him his strategy wasn't going to work, threatened to tell his separated wife or his coworkers and embarrass him? Start with blocking his number or changing your number, lady. But no, today if we are annoyed or inconvenienced, we go to the police first. And then we sue. What a total waste of our tax dollars and newsprint. Solve your own relationship problems, people.
She doesn't want justice....She wants to get her free dime. Or be paid restitution for all the pictures she sent him.
It's all his fault, and she isn't going to be held accountable for her actions....Grow up lady, you sent him pictures on a phone and he sent pictures to you. Now you have your 15 minutes of fame....take it and just go away.
she sounds sue happy to me...
"There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror," W. Somerset Maugham 1874-1975
As far as I'm aware it is illegal to send any type of "sexually explicit" photos over the internet period, that includes cell phones, even though it happens all the time. As a cop he should have known that and can't claim innocent. In turn if she initiated the photo swap, she is also guilty of a crime. Putting her name out there publicly was his biggest mistake.
Additionally he is a public figure by the nature of his job, she however is not.
There are two separate issues here: the main one, i think, was that the police chief sex-messaged on the job. The second issue is what he sent--on the job. The first part is a clear legal issue, the second is the nature of what he sent on the job (similar to the Congressman Weiner case, except the police chief is separated which however does not excuse his juvenile and possibly sexually harassing actions)
The woman in this case SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN NAMED. Her only role wd have been to testify in a police hearing and no more--and this wd have been done anonymously. Her privacy has been breached and so has her public image. She does clearly deserve some form of justice for this stupid or cruel error.
You have to be kidding nottheaverageguy. I have never heard of it being illegal for 2 adults to send an explicit photo to each other. They shouldn't have published her name that's for sure.
[quote]nottheaverageguy said: "As far as I'm aware it is illegal to send any type of "sexually explicit" photos over the internet period, that includes cell phones, even though it happens all the time. As a cop he should have known that and can't claim innocent. In turn if she initiated the photo swap, she is also guilty of a crime. Putting her name out there publicly was his biggest mistake."[/quote]
Way to go making stuff up! Awesome!
Doubter_2's comment is more accurate and concise than the article. I wish I had read that comment first. Then I wouldn't need to read the article. Well said.
Cant believe this quote from article..."It's about making him accountable. I would like to see what Mr. Cole offers this young woman. He put her name in the press release and that really hurt her," said DeLorenzo, adding that the woman has two children"
Why is it ok to put "his name" out there?? and not hers??? I happen to know that "he" has been hurt and he has 2 children also. Also, alot to lose like his career.All of this because she has an ax to grind and trying to get a free ticket from the city taxpayers dollars!
All of you saying they shouldn't have posted her name are only half right, they shouldn't have printed either of their names this is not news. But if they are going to print the chief's name they should print them both. She is not a crime victim and took her case to the news media not the police or district attorney's office. If she had really asked him to stop texting the place to go would be the police where she was receiving the messages and photos not the news media.
I guess she doesn't appreciate her 15 minutes of fame!
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