By ALAINE GRIFFIN December 11, 2009
STAMFORD — - The son of prospective Democratic candidate for governor Dannel Malloy was sentenced Thursday to five years' probation for his role in a drug-related attempted armed robbery last March.
In a plea deal, Benjamin Malloy, 22, was spared prison time in exchange for his guilty plea in Superior Court in September to a charge of attempt to commit first-degree robbery and possession of marijuana with intent to sell.
Superior Court Judge Richard F. Comerford Jr. handed down a suspended 10-year prison sentence and warned Malloy that if he commits any crimes during his probationary term, he could be sent to prison.
Dannel Malloy, a former longtime mayor of Stamford who recently left the office, is widely viewed as one of the top Democratic candidates in the 2010 gubernatorial race. In 2006, Malloy lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.
Dannel Malloy and his wife appeared in court with their son, but the former mayor did not make a statement on his son's behalf. Benjamin Malloy also did not make a statement in court.
"Obviously we're happy this chapter has come to a conclusion," Dannel Malloy said later, outside court. "We love our son very much. We are happy he continues to get the help he needs and hope he will continue to make progress."
Benjamin Malloy's attorney, Robert Bello, told the judge that Malloy accepts responsibility for the crime.
"He blames no one. He's an intelligent man who should have known better," Bello said. He added that Benjamin Malloy has a network of people who are supporting him, especially his mother and father, who he said "have done everything humanly possible" to help their son.
Bello said Benjamin's parents noticed psychological problems in their son when he was as young as 10 and sought help.
The prosecutor, David I. Cohen, said he considered it a fair sentence, but the suspended sentence gives Benjamin Malloy "enough rope to hang himself," he said.
Comerford spoke sternly to Benjamin Malloy, saying his criminal activity has embarrassed a family that has given a lot to the Stamford community.
"They have given you everything — it's up to you now," Comerford said. "I wish you good luck, son. Stay out of trouble, OK?"
The two felony charges Malloy pleaded guilty to carry maximum penalties combined of more than 20 years in prison.
Darien police, with search warrants in hand, went to then-Mayor Dannel Malloy's home last March in Stamford's affluent Shippan section. Benjamin Malloy was arrested along with two other men in connection with what police said was a botched drug deal at a Darien home.
According to Darien police, Eric Sing was confronted at the door of his Old Kings Highway North home by three men, two of whom were armed, with a BB gun and a .22-caliber pistol. They attempted to force their way into the home, but Sing ran inside and called police.
Detectives later learned that what was first reported as a home invasion was actually an attempted robbery and that Sing and the other men, including Malloy, had made a deal to buy marijuana.
Malloy and the two other men at the door refused to pay for the drugs. When they ordered Sing to hand over the drugs, he refused, and Malloy and the others fled, police said.
Police searched Sing's home and two other Stamford residences, including Malloy's.
Malloy had been arrested previously, in November 2007, on numerous drug charges after police said he sold drugs four times to an informant who was wearing a wire during a two-month police investigation.
A Superior Court judge granted Malloy accelerated rehabilitation, a probationary program for first-time offenders that if successfully completed can result in the erasure of the criminal charges. But nine months into the two-year probationary period, Malloy was arrested again in connection with the attempted armed robbery.
The two other men with Malloy during the Darien attempted robbery, Michael Krepak and Karl Hanson, both of Stamford, also received suspended sentences. In September, they pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal trespass and conspiracy to possess marijuana in exchange for suspended two-year prison sentences and two years probation.
Sing pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and received a suspended one-year prison sentence and two years' probation.
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant
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