Nearly two months after the state attorney general’s office withdrew charges against two men in connection with a brutal Hill Section beating, authorities have yet to refile them.
However, state prosecutors and the Scranton police signaled they are far from done investigating the Sept. 12 assault of Michael Ducas.
“Our investigation remains ongoing and we have no further comment at this time,” Karissa Hand, a spokeswoman with the attorney general’s office, said in an email. “We will let you know when there are updates.”
Police had charged Eric D. Piccotti, 48, 714 Taylor Ave., with attempted homicide after he reportedly told two officers he “clobbered” Ducas and wanted to kill him. Police had charged that Piccotti went to Ducas’ home in the 1000 block of Prescott Avenue because he suspected his wife was cheating on him with Ducas.
“Our only hope is that a full and complete investigation is being done,” Piccotti’s attorney, Gerard Karam, said. “And we are confident that if it is, it will reveal that Eric Piccotti acted appropriately under the law.”
Police also charged Piccotti’s brother-in-law, John Dougherty, 51, 836 N. Irving Ave., with burglary and criminal trespass.
“It’s my understanding that they are reexamining the whole thing,” Dougherty’s attorney, Paul Walker, said. “Obviously, I would love it to come to an end ... they were bogus charges and he never should have been charged.”
Police said Ducas needed immediate medical attention. His face, covered in blood and contusions, was swollen horribly, a photo of his injuries that surfaced after the incident showed.
The Lackawanna County district attorney’s office passed the prosecution to the attorney general’s office because Ducas had been married to an assistant DA’s mother.
The state prosecutor’s office withdrew charges Sept. 24 because “a review of those charges revealed a need for further investigation and a redrafting of the criminal complaints,” the office said at the time.
Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano said the case remains under active investigation and expects that charges will eventually be refiled. An assistant attorney general assigned to the investigation was recently in Scranton to review the case.
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