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‘Timoney Three’ set free
BY STEVEN STYCOS
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PHILADELPHIA — The judge overseeing the trial of housing activist Camilo Viveiros and co-defendants Eric Steinberg, 26, of Philadelphia, and Darby Landy, 24, of Raleigh, North Carolina — known as the Timoney Three — acquitted all three on Tuesday after citing inconsistencies in police testimony. Viveiros was accused of throwing a bicycle at former Philly police chief John Timoney at a demonstration during the 2000 Republican National Convention. Viveiros, 34, a resident of Providence, Rhode Island, has always maintained that he did not attack Timoney, and friends of the mild-mannered Viveiros have always said they found it inconceivable that he could have committed the violent act. Nevertheless, he and his fellow defendants were facing two felony charges in connection with the RNC2K incident — charges that carried up to 30 years of jail time and $40,000 in fines. But inconsistencies in police testimony prompted the judge to acquit all three men after two days of testimony. For instance, police officers Clyde Frasier and Raymond Felder testified that they saw Viveiros throw the bike at Timoney, now police chief in Miami, and that Timoney played no role in the activist’s arrest. But Timoney testified that he helped apprehend Viveiros. (In a late-2000 interview with the Phoenix, Timoney said he apprehended Viveiros. He was certain Viveiros had hit him with the bike, he said at the time, because he grabbed Viveiros’s heel afterward, saying to himself, "This son of a bitch is going nowhere." See "Rough Justice," News and Features, January 19, 2001.) Viveiros and his co-defendants were the last of 420 people arrested during the convention to go to trial. None of the other defendants had been sentenced to jail time, and the vast majority of the charges were thrown out or reduced, according to R2K Legal Collective spokesperson Kris Hermes. Supporters have held numerous fundraisers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and elsewhere around the country to help Viveiros, a Fall River native who works as an organizer for the Massachusetts Alliance for HUD Tenants. The case was closely watched by activists who feared that a conviction would have a chilling effect on political protest — particularly at the upcoming Democratic and Republican Conventions. For a more detailed report of the trial and acquittal, visit www.bostonphoenix.com .
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