House explosion, threatening note described in Raucci trial

SCHENECTADY -- The prosecution hasn't wasted any time calling their witnesses on day five of the Steven Raucci trial. 

The first witness of the day was Steve Capitummino, who took the stand to describe an explosion at his home on Aug. 25, 2001.

Capitummino testified he and his family had just moved into their home on Shardon Court in Rotterdam around that time, and after attending a neighborhood block party that day, Capitummin went to bed at about 11:30 p.m. He fell asleep on the living room floor 15 feet from the door, he said.

Capitummino said he awoke at about 1 a.m. to a "massive explosion."

"Almost everyone in the neighborhood put their lights on," he said. "We spent about a half hour looking around the house. I thought maybe my furnace exploded. I looked out the front window. I went out the side door and walked to the front of the house but didn’t see anything. Thought maybe it was kids playing with fireworks.”

The next morning, Capitummino said, his wife Colleen went out on the front porch to water the flowers when she saw the damage to their front door: The door frame was split from top to bottom, the front door handle was hanging off and there was confetti all over the place, he said.

Capitummino added his wife Colleen also found a note, a copy of which the prosecution presented. (The original has been destroyed. Schenectady District Attorney Bob Carney said a police officer will testify later that the copy of the note presented in court is exactly what the note said.)

The note read: ‘JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW WE DON’T LIKE YOU AND YOUR GRIEVANCES. MAYBE WE CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT, BUT WE CAN DEAL WITH YOU. YOUR GOOD AT HARRASSING OUR FRIEND BECAUSE SHE’S A GIRL, WELL LETS SEE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE DEALING WITH MEN.'

Steve Capitummino said the explosion was so strong that a screw from the front door handle was found in the neighbors yard 130 feet away.

“It was about $2,500 in damage," Capitummino testified. "My kids were four and eight at the time. My daughter who is 17 now still won’t stay in the house by herself. It was scary."

Raucci’s attorney Ronald DeAngelus cross-examined and asked if Capitummino ever saw Steven Raucci at his home or even in his neighborhood. Capitummino replied, “No."

Steve Capitummino’s wife Colleen testified next, talking about how she saw the damage first and mentioned she found a note on the front porch floor.

She told the jury that at least on three occasions she had seen a truck sitting outside her home between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.

Colleen Capitummino added that she saw the man in the truck stop at her neighbor's house at least once.

“My daughter, who is 17 now, won’t stay home alone, and I won’t keep the doors and windows open anymore,” said Colleen.

During cross-examination DeAngelus asked if she was able to identify the driver. Colleen responded “No.

The Capitummino’s were asked who may have done this to them and they both replied they had absolutely no idea. 

Next on the stand was Rotterdam Police communications specialist Cynthia Chevalier, who also served as a union officer for CSEA.

She testified that she was a dispatcher in 2001 and that patrolman Bob Denny filed a grievance against her on Aug. 4, 2001. Chevalier said her job performance was being attacked and she thought she might lose her job. Chevalier said she expressed these fears at union functions.

She told the jury that Steven Raucci sat at her table at least once but doesn’t recall ever saying anything to him about the grievance filed by Bob Denny. Bob Denny lives right next door to the Capitumminos' on Shardon Court.

Investigator Richard Kranick testified that he investigated the explosion at the Capitumminos' back in August 2001. He told the prosecution that he took photos and gathered the evidence. The evidence presented in court Thursday were three photos of the damage done to the Capitummino’s home, parts of an explosive device, note to the homeowner and explosive debris.

Robert Denny came next: He said he received a call from the Capitumminos about the damage done to their home. Denny testified, “I told the Capitumminos that I’m almost positive this wasn’t intended for them."

Rotterdam Police Officer Christopher Foster testified that he believed that Robert Denny’s home was the real target. Through the grapevine, he said, he had heard that Steven Raucci had been inquiring about where Robert Denny lived.

Foster said he called Raucci and asked to speak with him. During that interview in Foster's car, the Rotterdam Police Officer says Raucci told him that he was asking about Denny’s home because someone else asked him to but couldn’t identify who that person was.

Fingerprints were found at the scene of the Rotterdam explosion. State Police forensics expert Drew McDonald said when he cross-referenced them with the system nothing came up.

McDonald said when Raucci was arrested in 2009 they couldn’t match his fingerprints because the fingerprints found at the scene had been destroyed.