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 NY - 'Death Cheese' bus driver exonerated
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news
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Canada
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Posted - 09/02/2006 :  08:17:25 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Saturday, September 02, 2006 - Staten Island Advance, NY - Charges were dismissed yesterday against school bus driver Michael Cianci, 39, whom two Totten Intermediate School students had accused early in the year of inciting his charges to punch and kick each other.

In a nod to "Star Wars," Cianci had been tagged Emperor Mike, and a copy of purported "Death Cheese Laws" was found on his bus.

Now Cianci plans to turn the tables on his accusers, said his lawyer, Mario Gallucci: He'll sue the families of the two students for defamation, slander, libel and for malicious prosecution.

The bus driver and his wife, Alyssa, 39, both born-and-reared Staten Islanders who live in Parlin, N.J., wore wide smiles as they walked out of Stapleton Criminal Court after Assistant District Attorney Quentin Smith read a 10-page dismissal recommendation to Judge Alan J. Meyer.

"It's over, honey," Cianci said, hugging his wife.

"What amazes me was, why was I brought [to Criminal Court] for seven months?" asked Cianci, who in February was suspended from his $1,000-a-week job at Pioneer Transportation, where he has worked for 15 years.

"This wasn't a criminal case."

"He's a great guy," Mrs. Cianci said. "He's never even gotten into a fight. He's a gentle soul. He's a big mishmosh. But I would hear people behind my back say, 'There's the wife of the crazy bus driver.'"

Smith listed 15 reasons why two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child were being dropped against Cianci, who was arrested Jan. 31.

He said that in the course of his office's investigation, all the students who rode the bus -- except the two who complained -- came forward to say Cianci "was not the originator of the game based on the 'Death Cheese Laws.' "

The jacket that one accuser said had been cut with scissors was found instead to have been "ripped as a result of another student pulling his jacket," the prosecutor said.

The students also admitted to investigators that Cianci did not assign names for the "Star Wars" game, nor did he style himself Emperor Mike. The nickname was given to him by the student bus monitor, Smith said.

While the driver did admonish unruly kids, he "never physically touched any student" and no student was physically harmed on the bus, the prosecutor said.

"Numerous children on [Cianci's] bus route, as well as their parents, signed written statements supporting [Cianci] and characterizing him as a safe and able driver."

"Although the district attorney's investigation has revealed that [Cianci] may have at times exercised poor judgment in failing to maintain an orderly environment for the children riding his bus ... not every instance of poor judgment gives rise to criminal liability warranting a criminal prosecution," the assistant district attorney concluded.

Cianci reasoned that he drove 40 students home from Totten Intermediate School every day, all of whom were on the bus for "a total of 10 minutes" talking amongst themselves about video games and the like.

"My eyes were on the road," he said, insisting he knew very little about the "Death Cheese Laws."

"Some kid would come up and say, 'You're Emperor Mike,' and I'd say, 'Okay, whatever, as long as I get you home safe.' I was driving. My eyes never left the road."

Cianci complained about having been thrown into "a cage" at Tottenville's 123rd Precinct stationhouse on the night of his arrest.

He awoke to find himself pilloried in the media. Headlines read "Psycho School Bus Driver" and "Bus Driver From Hell," and TV's Geraldo Rivera devoted an entire segment to Cianci that included Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Donovan was quoted in the Advance as being "outraged that this defendant would abuse his custodial authority over these children. The safety of these students should not have been subject to some twisted game at the alleged whim of this driver."

Yesterday, following the dismissal, spokesman William J. Smith said the district attorney never solicited any press attention.

"We responded to press requests for information as we do on hundreds of other cases each year," Smith said. "We can't control what newspaper editors put in headlines or how television reporters frame a story. At the time of Mr. Cianci's arrest, every statement from this office referred to these as allegations and press inquiries were handled based on the best available information at the time."

Gallucci, Cianci's attorney, blasted the police investigation as "disgraceful.

"[Police] never interviewed any witnesses that were brought to their attention," Gallucci said. "We endeavored to do our own investigation, interviewing every single student on that bus, all of whom -- except the two -- indicated that the incident did not occur and that Michael Cianci was the best bus driver they ever had."

Cianci now hopes to get his old job back at Pioneer Transportation. He must first show the court's certificate of dismissal to the city Department of Education, which then will decide whether to reinstate him.

As for the accusers' liability, Gallucci said, "They provided the 'Death Cheese' list to the press."

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Edited by - news on 09/02/2006 08:20:43 AM

DigitalGimpling
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USA
226 Posts

Posted - 09/04/2006 :  3:48:15 PM  Show Profile  Visit DigitalGimpling's Homepage  Send DigitalGimpling an AOL message  Send DigitalGimpling an ICQ Message  Click to see DigitalGimpling's MSN Messenger address  Send DigitalGimpling a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by news
...asked Cianci, who in February was suspended from his $1,000-a-week job at Pioneer Transportation, where he has worked for 15 years.



I'm having problems reading past that line. Must be nice...



They see me rollin' - They hatin'
Patrollin' and try'n to catch me ridin dirty
tryna catch me ridin dirty
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