05/24/2012
By Bob Gardinier
Cambridge's ex-top cop on sex crimes list after ouster of rape conviction
TROY — A former Washington County town police chief whose 50-year prison term for rape was thrown out by a higher court because of prosecutorial misconduct is now a Level 1 sex offender.
Thomas Levandowski appeared before Judge Robert Jacon for a hearing Wednesday on what sex offender level he will be assigned and was given the lowest level for those deemed least likely to re-offend. He is eligible for parole in February 2014.
Assistant District Attorney Michele Poole argued that the former Cambridge police chief should be given the more stringent Level 2.
William Roberts, Levandowski's attorney, argued that Jacon's ruling should reflect a state review board determination that Levandowski should get Level 1 status. Level 1 offenders are not publicly listed.
Levandowski was convicted by a jury Aug. 23, 2002, of raping a girl between September 1996 and June 2001 when she was between the ages of 10 and 15.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court threw out 38 of 43 counts and the sentence and ordered a new trial on the remaining charges. The appellate justices cited several trial errors by the prosecutor, Patricia DeAngelis. DeAngelis prosecuted the case before she became Rensselaer County district attorney.
Levandowski, who also worked as a Hoosick Falls police officer and Washington County sheriff's deputy, pleaded guilty in May 2004 as the new trial date approached. He is serving a four- to 12-year sentence on three counts of possessing Internet photos of a sexual performance of a child under the age of 16. The photos were not of his original victim but came to light during the investigation of that case. He also pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of criminal contempt regarding his original victim, charges the higher court left intact. Those counts deal with Levandowski grabbing the girl by the arm and going to her school four times in violation of an order of protection to stay away from her.
The appellate justices faulted DeAngelis for repeatedly questioning a witness after the judge sustained objections by Levandowski's lawyer.
The justices also found improper that family members and friends of the victim as well as employees of the district attorney's office had seated themselves up front by the jury wearing ribbons of support during summations. The justices noted an instance in which DeAngelis had cross-examined the girl's mother, who testified the girl fabricated her accusations. DeAngelis said, ''The grand jury thought otherwise, didn't they?'' With the jury out of the courtroom, the judge ''severely reprimanded the prosecutor for pursuing such a line of questioning,'' the justices wrote.
Levandowski's wife, Sharon Levandowski, was charged with endangering for knowing about her husband's alleged abuse but doing nothing to stop it. She also faced additional charges for threatening the girl to keep her quiet and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering and got three years probation.
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