Two New Windsor police officers testified on Thursday in Cornwall town court about their initial interviews with Washingtonville high school principal Michael Rossi, who is accused of improper contact with a 16-year-old male student.
Their testimonies came during a pretrial hearing in front of Cornwall town justice Frank Navarra to determine whether the statements Rossi gave on October 16 that lead to his arrest were indeed voluntary and properly obtained.
Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Jarod Hart called New Windsor police sergeants Fred Fayo and Steven Sager to explain the statements they had gotten from Rossi. Fayo was the first to interview Rossi on October 16 when he came to the New Windsor police department to report texts and cell phone messages from a group of people saying they would reveal his involvement with a student unless he gave them a large sum of money.
Attorney for the defense Alan S. Lewis said during cross examination that during the course of both interviews the discussion turned from the attempted extortion to the reason someone could try to extort money form him. Lewis asked both Fayo and Sager whether either had made a point of telling Rossi he didn’t have to talk with them or read him his Miranda rights. Lewis explained that once the conversation turned to allegations of inappropriate actions by Rossi he needed to be told these things. Both men said that Rossi had volunteered the information.
Prosecuting attorney Hart also introduced the video and audio recording of Sager’s interview, which Sager said did delve into Rossi’s alleged inappropriate actions. The hearing was adjourned until September 8, when the two-hour video of the interview will be played.
