Suspended and indicted Massachusetts State Trooper Scott Quigley won’t be answering questions about a crash in Woburn that killed 37-year-old Angelo Schettino of Saugus. That’s according to a motion filed by his lawyer in the Schettino family’s wrongful death civil suit that names Quigley and State Police as defendants.
The request seeks to “stay” or pause the civil case until there is a resolution in Quigley’s criminal proceedings. The move would halt all “discovery”, the process of gathering evidence, subpoenaing documents, and questioning witnesses.
“Due to the pendency of the criminal matter, Defendant Quigley will be unable to participate in discovery, as he will be forced to assert his privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment,” the filing states.
Michael Mahoney, attorney for Schettino family, plans to fight Quigley’s motion arguing that efforts to uncover the truth are being stonewalled. “Discovery is how families find out what happened when the official investigation has failed them,” Mahoney told Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel.
Quigley’s unmarked cruiser veered into a wheelchair van transporting Angelo Schettino. Schettino died a month later from injuries he sustained.
The 2023 crash in Woburn became a scandal for Quigley and State Police in January when questions about hospital records first surfaced. Court filings allege Quigley had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.114 shortly after the crash. Official State Police reports note that alcohol was not a factor, and Quigley wasn’t questioned until 8 days after the collision.
Mahoney points to two specific developments that the family fears may be impacted if the civil case is delayed. First, court documents reveal that just four days after the fatal crash, Quigley requested a new, government-issued phone. The original phone, which could contain data from the time of the collision, remains unaccounted for. Second, the family’s legal team subpoenaed video footage from Teresa’s, a Woburn restaurant where Quigley was allegedly seen drinking with another trooper prior to the crash. That footage no longer exists, according to Mahoney.
Mahoney is also seeking to interview troopers who went to visit Quigley at the hospital the night of the crash.
“We’re finding out these superiors are retiring and that’s after two years,” Mahoney said. “This criminal investigation could go on for two years... they are destroying the evidence that we need to pursue this case,” he claimed.
The Schettino family maintains they are not seeking special treatment, but rather the same transparency and truth-finding process afforded to any other citizen in Massachusetts.
A judge has yet to rule on the motion to stay the civil proceedings. Meanwhile, Sergeant Quigley remains suspended without pay as he prepares for a criminal trial expected in 2027.
Quigley’s attorney, Daniel J. Moynihan, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Moynihan’s filing states, “a stay of proceedings is proper and necessary to prevent the Defendant from having to ‘choose between defending the civil action and protecting himself from criminal prosecution’”.
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