Sep 20, 2007 12:41 am US/Eastern
Cop: Bubaris Confessed To Dumping Man In Bedford
Private Statements Doing Number On Accused Officer
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (CBS) ―
It's a story we have been following for months and CBS 2 HD has uncovered another twist in the case of Rene Perez, the homeless man found dying alongside a remote road.
It appears to be turning into a case that pits cop against cop.
A fellow officer claims indicted Mount Kisco Officer George Bubaris confessed to dumping the victim in neighboring Bedford.
The only public statement Bubaris has made about the case came in an exclusive interview with CBS 2 HD.
"I think it's appalling what happened to Rene Perez. It's sad the way his life came to an end," Bubaris said in that interview.
However, private statements made by Bubaris now are being used against him.
The night Perez called 911, asking to be taken to the hospital, Bubaris was one of three cops who responded to a Mount Kisco laundromat.
Prosecutors say shortly after the call was cleared Bubaris located Perez, drove him to Bedford and abandoned him in a remote spot.
That night, according to newly filed documents, Bubaris confessed to Officer Edward Dwyer: "I went out hunting -- or looking -- around for Rene Perez and I ran into him and I gave him a ride up to Byram Lake Road."
The next afternoon in the police locker room, Bubaris allegedly told Dwyer, "You're the only one who knows, bro."
One legal expert thinks that statement could be the key to the prosecution's case.
"'You're the only that knows this, bro,' that sort of could be looked at as a consciousness of guilt statement," former prosecutor Bill Aronwald said. "That's his way of saying "Look, I haven't told anybody else this so I'm trusting you to keep this to yourself.'"
But defense lawyer Ed Hayes insists driving Perez from Mount Kisco to Bedford wasn't a crime because earlier that night the police in Bedford did something similar.
"Bedford did the exact same thing," Hayes said. "They took him and dropped him in Mount Kisco. They admit to that.
New documents also show Bubaris complained at the laundromat about Perez calling 911 for no reason and asking are we going to bring him somewhere or take him somewhere.
The papers don't say how his fellow cops answered.
Perez, an immigrant from Guatemala, had been arrested dozens of times by both departments. He died from internal injuries, but what caused those injuries is not known.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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