Posted Sunday, April 21, 2019 4:18 pm

BRATTLEBORO — A former Brattleboro police officer who left the department late last year is proclaiming his innocence after the Windham County State's Attorney's Office sent a letter to defense attorneys across Windham County.

In that letter, sent in September 2018, State's Attorney Tracy Shriver expressed concern over a relationship Sean Wilson had with his Jamaica landlord, Lorenzo Deconinck, who is facing federal charges out of Massachusetts that he conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

"I have ethical obligations to inform defendants and their attorneys of any material that may be exculpatory, and information that may be used to impeach a law enforcement officer falls in that category," she said.

"It has been reported that Officer Wilson wrote 'for cocaine' on rent check(s) provided to Deconinck, and that Officer Wilson observed Deconinck with cocaine and being under the influence of cocaine," wrote Shriver in the letter to defense attorneys. "My office is not aware of Officer Wilson reporting any illegal activity on the part of Lorenzo Deconinck to any law enforcement authorities. It has also been reported that Officer Wilson provided information to Deconinck and his associates regarding police investigation."

The source of the information was listed on the original letter, but the names were redacted by the Vermont Office of Defender General.

Brattleboro Police Department's Mark Carignan noted that the BPD received a different letter from Shriver than the one she sent to the public defender's office.

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"It articulated some of the same concerns and articulated some other concerns not in the letter sent to the public defender," said Carignan. "There were very concerning allegations in that letter. We take complaints and allegations about police misconduct very seriously. We began an internal investigation into those allegations and concerns. It would be inappropriate for me and I cannot comment on the outcome of an internal investigations and I can't tell you if his release from employment was voluntary or not."

The Reformer has filed a freedom of information request for any documentation between the State's Attorney's Office and the Brattleboro Police Department but has not yet received a response.

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After he left the BPD in November 2018, Wilson was employed for about four months by the Essex Police Department.

"I can confirm that Sean Wilson did work for our department for a short time but he resigned about a month ago," said Rick P. Garey, chief of police of the Essex Police Department. "We do not comment on personnel matters so there is no additional information we would share."

The Reformer reached out to Wilson through his attorney, Craig S. Nolan, of Sheehey Furlong & Behm out of Burlington.

"The allegations made by Lorenzo Deconinck and his co-conspirators are false," wrote Wilson in an email. "Fresh out of the Police Academy and not from the area, I inadvertently rented a residence from Deconinck, who turned out to be involved in narcotics trafficking for which he is now being prosecuted federally. Unfortunately, my rental of the house resulted in regular contact with Deconinck, who lived across the street from my rental, for a period of time. To the extent that any of the allegations are being investigated, I am confident that investigators will ascertain the truth — that these are false allegations by a drug dealer."

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Both Wilson and Nolan declined to comment on whether Wilson's separation from the Brattleboro Police Department was willing or not.

When asked if Wilson was considering filing a civil complaint against the BPD, or if Wilson is facing criminal charges for his involvement with Deconinck, Nolan wrote "I regularly represent law enforcement officers in a variety of contexts. Currently, I'm assisting Sean Wilson in navigating an environment triggered by false allegations of a drug dealer and his cohorts."

Nolan also noted that Wilson is not currently working in a law enforcement capacity.

"Sean Wilson is currently taking time off from law enforcement work, and expects to serve again in that capacity in the not too distant future," wrote Nolan.

Bob Audette can be contacted at 802-254-2311, ext. 151, or raudette@reformer.com.