Derby Middle School Dean of Students William LaRovera became “wild” and had to be escorted out of the building after principal Sally Bonina accused him of bringing painkillers into the school.
“Bonina said that he was very excited and the only way she could describe it was that he was wild,” according to an arrest warrant written by Derby police Detective Charles M. Stankye, III.
The arrest warrant — made available to the public Friday afternoon at Superior Court in Derby — details the incident the morning of Sept. 8 that caused Derby police to charge LaRovera Thursday with narcotics possession, possession of narcotics near a school, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of drug paraphernalia near a school and failing to store narcotics in their proper container.
Police allegedly found 66 Roxicodone (generic oxycodone) pills in two plastic bags belonging to LaRovera, along with a clear plastic tube with a powdery residue in it.
His attorney, Robert Serafinowicz, told the Valley Indy Thursday that LaRovera had become dependent on pain medication due to an old injury and that the incident should have been handled in a different way.
Serafinowicz said a personality conflict existed between Bonina and LaRovera and that the principal went out of her way to get the dean in trouble.
A copy of the arrest warrant follows. Article continues after the document.
The Suspicion
Bonina had grown increasingly suspicious of LaRovera’s behavior during the past year, according to statements attributed to her in the warrant.
“When he was in school he would always be sniffling and constantly had runny noses and nose bleeds,” she allegedly told police. “His eyes were always red and blood shot.”
He was caught three times for using chewing tobacco in the school last year, according to the warrant. LaRovera’s questionable behavior continued this year, with prolonged absences from his office, according to the warrant.
“(Bonina) said he would disappear for hours and she would not know where he was or what he was doing. He was never in his own office. Bonina states that she would call him on the radio and ask him his location. He would always answer back that he was in the bathroom,” according to the warrant.
The morning of Sept. 8, Bonina was suspicious that LaRovera was using tobacco products again.
She watched him via a closed circuit television system go into a locker room carrying a gray computer bag, then leave the locker room without the bag.
Bonina and a custodian then went into the locker room. They went into a locked office inside the locker room and saw the gray bag.
“Bonina stated that after looking through the computer bag she located two Ziplock bags each containing numerous small pills,” according to a statement from police.
Bonina took some of the pills to the school’s nurse, who identified them as “Oxycontons.”
The principal then notified Superintendent Stephen Tracy, who called Derby police.
As Bonina was on the phone with Tracy, LaRovera came into her office and started asking about his bag.
“Bonina states that he was completely without color and very nervous,” according to the warrant.
Eventually, a custodian escorted LaRovera out of the middle school.
Bonina began to inventory what she allegedly found in LaRovera’s bag, as per the Board of Education’s policy.
Police said Bonina gave them two Ziplock bags — 44 pills were in one bag, while 22 pills were in the other.
Police also said they found crushed pill residue in the plastic bags, along with “pill fragments.”
Police also confiscated a wooden plaque reading “I Love Dad” belonging to LaRovera. Authorities believe the plaque was used to crush pills before snorting them.
“Investigators know from their training and experience that persons who abuse narcotics in pill form will often crush the pills into powder form and then ingest the powder through the nasal cavity,” police said in a statement.
Article continues after statement.
LaRovera, a Naugatuck resident and a 1994 graduate of Ansonia High School, is on paid leave.
The Attorney
LaRovera’s attorney questioned why the principal went through his bags.
“I think it’s an egregious example of somebody overstepping their bounds and showing a clear lack of civility and respect to a coworker and human being,” Serafinowicz said Friday. “At no time in this society has it ever been commonplace to rifle through another individual’s belongings… The fact that she did so is extremely alarming.”
Serafinowicz said the legality of going through LaRovera’s bags would be based on the reason for the action.
“I’ve got to see what her basis was,” he said.
He disputed most of what Derby police wrote in a statement, and issued his own press release Friday evening.
Article continues after document.
Serafinowicz questioned the way the investigation took place — saying it was faster than other investigations. In a press release, he asks Derby police to provide previous investigations that secured arrest warrants in “four business days.”
“It’s clear on the face that somebody had an ulterior motive,” Serafinowicz said. “I wish I knew (who). Considering the way this investigation was conducted, it departs so far from the accepted norms, that’s the only explanation that’s plausible.”
The attorney also claims police have not said how long school officials were in possession of LaRovera’s items.
