Reporters Dugan Arnett and Andrew Ryan are back in court to learn the fate of a case that has spanned eight years. In 2017, New Bedford police accused Steven Ortiz of being at the center of a major drug trafficking ring. But an officer involved in his arrest was sleeping with Ortiz’s fiancee while using her as an unwitting confidential informant. This case was what first brought Arnett to New Bedford. In the two years since he broke the story, one drug trafficking case has already been tossed. Now, an even bigger case hangs in the balance. And the outcome could bring a reckoning for police and prosecutors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the background of the Steven Ortiz case?
It's only been a month since we started publishing Snitch City, and already my colleague Andrew Ryan and I are back in court. just outside courtroom seven, it's almost nine o'clock, here for a hearing in the Stephen Ortiz case. You heard about Stephen Ortiz in the last episode. Back in 2017, he was arrested in an epic bust. His fiancee, Carly Medeiros, was there that night too.
And one of the cops who was part of the arrest was her secret lover, a New Bedford police officer, Jared Lucas.
All of a sudden, when I turn my head, I see Jared. I was like, what is he doing here?
The bust was the result of a year-long investigation involving numerous local, state, and federal agencies. It was a massive effort. So big, police gave it an official title, Operation High Stakes. And at the center of it all was Ortiz, who police said ran a sprawling heroin trafficking ring.
Which one is Ortiz? Shaved head glasses. So the gentleman in the gray suit?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. This case has gone on for nearly eight years, and I've been following it closely for several of them. Conservative estimate is probably about the 20th hearing I've been to as part of this case since 2021. At most of these hearings, not much happens. But Carly told me that today might be different. She and Steven Ortiz have had their ups and downs, but they're together again.
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Chapter 2: Who are the key players involved in the Ortiz case?
She's been told to stay close by, but out of court. Today there's several New Bedford police officers. Detectives have been subpoenaed and are expected to show up. I've also heard that Paul Oliveira, the current police chief, has also been subpoenaed and is expected to be here. So we'll see what happens. Yeah. Ortiz and his co-defendants are clustered in the hallway outside the courtroom.
They're waiting for the proceeding to begin. Lawyers hustle in and out, including Ortiz's attorney, Rosemary Scappiccio.
I have another hearing on another homicide right after this, so I won't be right out.
We'll wait. Scappiccio took on Ortiz's case two years ago, after he called her office over and over. She's a big deal in Boston legal circles. She did not seem happy that the officers she'd subpoenaed are not here.
Yeah, I think I heard her say that she'd subpoenaed eight officers and none of them were here yet. That's right, that's right.
And some sarcastic language was asking where they might be hiding, so. And now, discreetly, she's giving us a heads up.
You guys aren't going to want to miss this.
You're not going to want to miss this, she says. Scappiccio walks over to her client. He and his three co-defendants start to smile.
I wonder if they're going to dismiss him. I wonder if they're going to kill the case.
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Chapter 3: Why is the Ortiz case being dismissed?
Rather, their involvement in the case has tainted the case, that they can't be cut out, and it taints the entire investigation, and therefore dismissal is an appropriate remedy.
And just like that, the prosecutor throws in the towel.
The court also found that Carly Medeiros was not a credible witness, had many reasons to lie.
Wait a minute, Judge, I'm not going to agree to any of this.
But even as Driscoll agrees to dismiss the case, to give in, he's still disparaging Carly. And Scappiccio isn't having it.
This isn't what we agreed to. Okay. In terms of making a credibility determination, let's call the witnesses then. Okay. Let's just call all the witnesses. I've been at eight police officers. Let's do it.
Carly's always maintained that Detective Jared Lucas wasn't the only New Bedford police officer who broke the rules. She swears other cops knew about her relationship with Lucas and helped keep it secret. Now, Scappuccio is telling the judge that she can prove at least one police officer, Kevin Barbosa, perjured himself in this very courtroom.
But we weren't prepared to call Carly Medeiros as a witness. We were prepared to rehabilitate her. We were prepared to show that Barbosa lied and committed perjury under oath, and the Commonwealth knows it. So for them to stand here now and say she was not credible, I think is just disingenuous.
Driscoll, the prosecutor, doesn't want to open that door. But he resents her suggestion that the state was aware of any perjury.
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Chapter 4: What role did police misconduct play in the case?
I just wanted to make our position clear. Kali Medeiros was ready to testify. I subpoenaed eight police officers to prove what we think was a pattern of misconduct by the police department in this case, using drug-addicted women for their disposal.
But the judge isn't swayed. She's ready to move on.
Okay.
Case dismissed. Charges dropped. After eight long years, Ortiz and his co-defendants are off the hook. But there's a downside. The dismissal means there won't be a hearing. And those eight officers won't have to take the stand or face hard questions. One of those officers would have caused quite a stir. New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira.
I thought this might finally be the moment, the chance to hear from the former drug cop who allegedly misused CIs and then went on to run the department. Instead, the court, and most importantly, the public, will never know the truth. The police won't have to explain themselves.
And defense attorneys will tell you, this is an example of how police and prosecutors can bury things that are uncomfortable. There's no incentive to turn over more rocks or dig deeper. Here, prosecutors had a decision to make. If they drop the case, they take a loss, but limit the fallout and stop the bleeding.
I want to get the ADA.
We follow prosecutor Patrick Driscoll out the door. He's hustling, walking quickly with a woman who handles press for the Bristol DA's office.
Can we ask you a couple of things about what you're saying? Why not?
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the case dismissal?
If you want to email the DA's office, someone will get back to you.
Got nothing to say? We want to hear from Driscoll because it's prosecutors who could push for real accountability. They actually have some power to check the police. Prosecutors like Driscoll could be key to stopping misconduct by demanding more from cops. But in this case, they chose to punt instead. And Driscoll had zero interest in talking to us.
Can I at least get a reaction to our reporting?
If you want to email the DA's office...
Anytime you want to talk about this, we'd love to. We'd love to hear the DA's perspective because we're, I think it's an important one because you guys are the most powerful actors in this whole system.
Andrew and I take the elevator back upstairs and find a quiet place to debrief. As we're sitting there, my phone rings. It's Carly. Hey Carly, how's it going? So you heard, you heard what happened?
Of course.
We wanted to interview Carly's fiance about his newfound freedom, but he slipped out of the courthouse before we could catch him. He was on his way to celebrate. What's going through your head right now? What's going through Steven's head?
I'm fucking relieved, Duggan. Like eight, eight, longer than eight years because you got to understand this started longer than eight years ago. And I'm just, I'm so relieved and I'm so grateful. I'm grateful for you. I'm grateful for you sticking by us and believe in me and... And I'm just, honestly, it doesn't even feel real right now. Stuff happens. I'm not proud of what happened.
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