From St. Louis Post Dispatch
A former Chicago police detective was sentenced to eight years in prison for a fiery drunken driving crash that killed two young men, leaving the victims’ families distraught that he won’t spend more time behind bars.
Joseph Frugoli’s blood-alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit when he slammed his SUV into a car that had stalled on an expressway entrance ramp in 2009. The collision caused the other car to burst into flames, and the two men inside burned to death before a passer-by could pull them out of the vehicle.
Frugoli was pulled from his vehicle and authorities said he tried to flee the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended. He was convicted of aggravated driving under the influence and fleeing the scene of an accident, and the judge could have sentenced him to anything from probation to 31 years in prison.
“Eight years for the lives of two young boys?” said a sobbing Maria Velez, the mother of one of the victims, after Friday’s sentencing hearing. “It’s like a slap in the face, it’s an injustice, it’s like we don’t even matter.”
Her son, 21-year-old Fausto Manzera of Chicago, was killed along with 23-year-old Andrew Cazares of Summit. ….MORE