Jose Quinoy, former Sleepy Hollow police officer who eventually resigned his post after being indicted in U.S. District Court for alleged use of excessive force and witness tampering, has now filed a $17 million lawsuit against the FBI agent once investigating him.
Quinoy, 40, now an officer in Mt. Vernon earning the half the pay he used to here as a detective, was charged and acquitted of a number of federal charges that claimed he abused his position as a police officer during two separate incidents in 2006. He had been accused of using a taser and beating handcuffed prisoners.
The 13-page complaint, filed by the New York City firm Sullivan Papain Block McGrath Cannaro P.C. and listing both Quinoy and his wife Marina Quinoy as plaintiffs, targets FBI agent Catherine Pena’s “intentional destruction of evidence.”
The complaint alleges that Pena, who had Quinoy’s coworker Michael Hayes wear a wire to record conversations for her investigation, then destroyed the transcript and erased a disk.
Because of this allegedly tampered/destroyed evidence, Quinoy’s lawyers attest he was denied his right to a fair trial and due process.
“As a result of Pena's intentional destruction of evidence, plaintiff Jose Quinoy lost his job, incurred legal expenses, was the subject of numerous negative and harmful media reports and continues to suffer economic harm to this day,” the document states. It lists the legal fees he incurred as upwards of $600,000.
The federal lawsuit was filed in March; more recently, the U.S. counsel requested on May 23 a 30-day extension to file a response, which was granted.
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