09/22/2011
By FRANK FERNANDEZ
BUNNELL -- A woman who awoke to obscene phone calls and text messages because of a sexually explicit Internet ad falsely placed in her name is now suing the former Bunnell police officer responsible and the city's Police Department.
The lawsuit charges the Bunnell Police Department failed to properly supervise former Cpl. Nick Massaro, who fabricated the sexually explicit Craigslist ad using the woman's real name, phone number and picture.
The woman said she started receiving obscene and degrading phone calls and text messages just before 8 a.m. Nov. 30, 2009, from strangers seeking sex and asking for pictures after they read the ad on Craigslist. The News-Journal is not publishing the woman's name because of the nature of the complaint.
"This case is about the folks that are supposed to be protecting the public violating that trust," the woman's attorney, Daniel Mowrey, said in a phone interview Wednesday. The suit was filed Monday in circuit court in Flagler County.
Bunnell City Attorney Sid Nowell said Wednesday the city reacted promptly to the problem and is not responsible for Massaro's transgressions.
"He was trained in what was appropriate and not appropriate," Nowell said in a phone interview. "We can't put somebody next to him during the entire shift to ensure that he doesn't use the computers in an unauthorized fashion."
This is the latest controversy to hit the Bunnell Police Department. Two former Bunnell Police Officers, Lt. John Murray and his wife, Cpl. Lisa Murray, still face unrelated criminal charges in separate matters. John Murray was charged with official misconduct, possession of cocaine and tampering with physical evidence. The official misconduct charge stemmed from allegations he improperly sent vehicle towing jobs to former Bunnell City Commissioner Jimmy Flynt. The drug charge stems from allegations cocaine was found in his patrol car after he turned it into the city. The tampering with physical evidence is related to some marijuana plants found in a field.
The official misconduct charge against Lisa Murray is related to allegations she threatened to arrest a used car salesman if he didn't pay Flynt money owed for a tow.
The Police Department also has been sued by two former sergeants who individually claim they were unjustly fired. One claims he was dismissed for helping the State Attorneys Office in its investigation of the Murrays, a claim the department denies.
The woman suing Massaro and Bunnell was a friend of Massaro's ex-wife.
The woman now lives in Jacksonville but remains "extremely embarrassed" and is fearful of being in her hometown in Flagler County for fear strangers will recognize her from the Craigslist ad, the lawsuit states. The woman is receiving psychotherapy and suffers from anxiety and nightmares caused by the "horrendous and sexually explicit advertisement," according to the lawsuit.
Massaro also abused a law enforcement database by using it to search for records on the woman, her family and friends, the complaint states. Massaro also used a police computer to look at pornography, according to the lawsuit. And the Bunnell Police Department failed to "monitor, audit and control" Massaro's access to that personal information, the suit states.
Massaro initially denied posting the false Craigslist ad but later said he and a couple did it as a joke, according to a report from an internal police investigation cited in a News-Journal story in January 2010. Massaro said the pornographic websites were from spam emails he received while checking his personal email.
Massaro is not currently employed as a police officer but still has a law enforcement certificate, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
He could not be reached for comment.
Massaro was last working as a bouncer in Jacksonville, said Mowrey.
Nowell said as soon as the city was aware of the problem it took action and was set to discipline Massaro, including possibly firing him, when he resigned on Jan. 26, 2010. Massaro had worked four years at the Bunnell Police Department, which named him its officer of the year in 2007. Besides commendations he also had disciplinary actions for neglect of duty and court absences.
"I don't see how the city can be held responsible," Nowell said.
The matter will be referred to the city's insurance carrier, Nowell said.
"I believe the city's position is that officer Massaro engaged in some unauthorized and possibly illegal activity and none of it was condoned by the city," Nowell added.
