West Easton Constable Will Answer in Court For Lying to PSP

Following a preliminary hearing yesterday, Magisterial District Judge Richard Yetter ruled there's sufficient evidence that West Easton Borough Constable lied to the Pennsylvania State Police in an attempt to frame a black neighbor. His sin? He has the misfortune of living across the street from her. She can’t have that, so she concocted a story that he’s a drug dealer who put a gun to her head. She was held for court on charges of having reported an offense that never occurred, a third degree misdemeanor. Her arraignment is tentatively scheduled for November 21. As a condition of bail, Judge Yetter ordered Mezzacappa to refrain from any contact with the neighbor she attempted to frame.

The Commonwealth came well-prepared. Assistant District Attorney Abigail Marie Bellafatto had lined up the Mezzacappa's two unfortunate neighbors as well as five uniformed state troopers. She could have tried the entire case had she wanted, but kept it short and sweet. She only called CPL Marvin Shar and Trooper Drew Hoffman. Mezzacappa, clad in white in an apparent attempt to convey innocence and purity, was represented by John Waldron, a well-regarded criminal defense attorney from Allentown. He presented no evidence, which is typical in a preliminary hearing.

CPL Shar testified he is a patrol supervisor who responded on the night of February 11 to what he initially thought was a "neighbor dispute." He went to the neighbor's home and spoke to the mother of a newborn infant. She had sent her significant other - the father - to Giant to pick up formula for the baby.

When he started the car, Mezzacappa "appeared out of nowhere and was banging on his driver's side window." Dad said that Mezzacappa was "irate" and yelled at him to "get the F out" because his exhaust was too loud. She also said she'd take him to court.

Dad did as he was told and called Mom. She said that while he was on his way to the grocery, Mezzacappa began banging on Mom's front door "demanding that she get [Dad] out of the neighborhood."

Dad happens to be a black male.

Troopers then interviewed Mezzacappa. She told them that she had been returning home for the night when she was accosted by a black male who "pointed a gun to her head as she exited her vehicle ... ."

This alleged assailant happened to be a back male, too.

She claimed this black male, whom she referred to as a drug dealer, ran into the neighbor's home and then popped out and hopped into a car. Mezzacappa claimed she fired a round, but probably missed him.

CPL Shar asked to examine Mezzacappa's firearm, a a Smith and Wesson MP-9, complete with a 17-round magazine. He noted that the magazine was full, with no round in he chamber. He indicated that the pistol was incapable of being fired even if the trigger was pulled. He looked at the muzzle and barrel of the gun, observing lint and debris. This led him to conclude that the weapon had not been fired, as Mezzacappa had insisted.

She told CPL Shar at one point that her assailant was, in fact, the black neighbor who lives across the street from her.

CPL Shar asked her where she had been that evening, and she explained she had been running errands at several places and arrived home about 15 minutes before police arrived. She told them she was driving a silver Cadillac, which was parked outside. He went and checked, and the hood was cold. Mezzacappa lives at the bottom of a hill, so he felt the brakes. They were cold, too.

Mezzacappa was asked to assist police in determining where she fired her handgun. She pointed in one direction, then another.

CPL Shar directed troopers to look for a spent casing while he continued the interview with Mezzacappa. Back inside, he noticed she was rambling a lot and there was a half glass of wine near her. She insisted that was all she had to brink, but when he asked her to submit to a breathalyzer, she refused and became hostile.

He then asked her to write a statement about what had happened. This is what she gave him.

Transcribed, this is what it says:

"The Mayor of West Easton Borough tried to rape me in January of 2016. I reported the attempted rape to Pa. State Police in October of 2018. They blew this off as a false report. The Borough of West Easton has been attacking me and my home ever since this report and have placed my life in danger. The Mayor of West Easton, Dan DePaul, has been stalking me, and has been enlisting other persons to stalk and harass me on a constant basis. I believe he has enlisted drug dealers to continue to appear at my house, break into my house, and threaten me at my home on an [sic] continual basis. It is unfortunate that PSP failed to investigate the attempted rape claim and insted [sic] believed the lies of Daniel DePaul (charged with a criminal stalking and harassment in 2013 - ARD - Easton Police Dep't) and believed his lies instead of believing a Pa State Constable."

Because Mezzacappa failed to address the events of February 11, she was asked to try again.

In her second try, this is what she produced.

Transcribed, this is what it says:

"I was getting out of my car when a drug deler [sic] held a gun to my head, then ran into [the neighbor's house] then out the back door, then into his car. I fired my gun at him. I think I missed. I called the PSP after I went back into my house. This is continued and pre-planned harassment from the Borough of West Easton who has been continally [sic] harassing me and retaliating against me for the past 10 years.

"Mayor Daniel DePaul had tried to rape me in January of 2016. I reported the attempted rape in October of 2018 at PSP barracks in Belfast, PA. The cop in a business suit said that since I walked into the bedroom of Daniel DePaul, I gave him my permission to assault me. He should be fired. Mayor Daniel DePaul should be arrested and charged with attempted rape, assault, battery, harassment and stalking."

Mezzacappa's firearm was seized, packed and sent to a PSP lab for analysis. The conclusion was that it had not been fired recently.

Trooper Drew Hoffman corroborated CPL Shar. Because it was getting late, he decided to wait to canvass neighbors. He did this over the next few days. He spoke to three neighbors. All were at home on February 11. None heard a gunshot. Two of them heard the yelling.

Attorney Waldron sought dismissal based on a failure to produce a record of Mezzacappa's 911 call and because the expert's report failed to prove that the weapon had not been fired that night. ADA Bellafatto countered that there was a "plethora" of evidence, from the troopers' own observations, their canvass of the neighborhood and the lack of a casing.

In view of the complete waste of troopers' time by Mezzacappa, it is unlikely she will be considered for ARD.

It also appears that my libel judgment against her means nothing. She clearly attempted to frame her neighbor with attempted homicide, and then smeared the Mayor of West Easton with more libel.

Not every woman who cries rape should be believed. In fact, she should be prosecuted. She attempts to ruin other people's lives with lies that are hard to disprove. The truth finally caught up with her.