WORCESTER – The ongoing civil case of Natale Cosenza against two Worcester Police officers and the City of Worcester seems to become more complex after a new motion recently filed by attorneys retained by the city.
Attorneys Wendy Quinn and Courtney Mayo filed a motion on Thursday, Dec. 7, to withdraw as council for defendants Kerry Hazelhurst and John Doherty, both sergeants with the Worcester Police Department. In the motion, Quinn and Mayo say that attorney Carl D. Aframe, representing Hazelhurst and Doherty in the post-judgement enforcement proceedings, have recently finalized a settlement agreement with Cosenza.
The motion by Quinn and Mayo also says the following:
“The settlement agreement implicates Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7(a) in creating a conflict of interest in the continued representation of Hazelhurst and Doherty by Attorneys Quinn and Mayo, as the personal interest of the lawyers is now directly adverse to the interests of the clients.”
Quinn, a former attorney for the city who is now counsel at Hassett & Donnelly, P.C., also argued on behalf of the city in a case related to public records brought by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The judge found the city “acted in bad faith by illegally withholding police records” in the case, and ordered the city to pay attorney’s fees for the Telegram in the case.
As This Week in Worcester previously reported, a civil jury found in Oct. 2022, that Sergeant Kerry Hazelhurst concealed evidence and fabricated evidence in the case that led to Cosenza’s conviction. The jury also found that Hazelhurst and Doherty conspired to conceal and fabricate evidence. Cosenza was incarcerated for 16 years prior to his release. The civil jury awarded Consenza $8 million.
The City of Worcester was removed as a defendant in the case, which Cosenza has appealed. Hazelhurst and Doherty had appealed the jury decision.
Both Hazelhurst and Doherty remain employees of the Worcester Police Department.
The Worcester Police Department Bureau of Professional Standards (BOPS) conducted a review of the case in April 2019, when Cosenza filed his civil lawsuit. That report found both Hazelhurst and Doherty performed their duties as required and expected, and exhonerated the officers from wrongdoing.
The BOPS report was written by Sgt. Kevin Pageau. Both Pageau and Doherty were found to have conducted what a judge determined to be an unlawful interrogation of a 16-year-old girl in 2008. That case led to a settlement of $2.1 million by the city. Despite the appearance of a conflict of interest, the report was approved by Captain Kenneth Davenport, Deputy Chief Mark Roche, and then-Chief of Police Steven Sargent.
The law firm representing Cosenza, Loevy and Loevy, declined comment on any aspect of the motion.
