“Rape Table Probe” Arrests Made in Hazing Of Male Customs Agents

Arrests made in extreme hazing case

The United States Attorney Office has announced three U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been arrested in what they allege as extreme hazing of male officers at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Part of the charges include purported use of “rape table”.

Earlier this year, GPB shared with readers the initial allegations that appeared in the NY Post (Link). This is a follow up to that reporting.

Per the Newark Patch:

“Tito Catota, 38, of Lyndhurst, Parmenio I. Perez, 40, of Hawthorne and Michael A. Papagni, 32, of Staten Island, N.Y. were charged with assaulting two fellow officers at the airport, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.”

Last Wednesday, each defendant stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in a Newark federal court. Currently, all three men are out on bond.

The trio have been charged with “forcibly assaulting, impeding, intimidating, and interfering” with two unnamed men while the victims were engaged in their duties as Customs and Border Protection officers, according to investigators.

More: Brutal hazing at Texas High school involving sodomy

The alleged misconduct took place on the second floor of Terminal C in a room that is used for the identification and interception of passengers attempting to bring contraband into the United States.

Reportedly, the victims were forcibly held down on the table by two of the officers while the third would simulate a sexual act on the victim’s body.

Other alleged abusive behaviors include:

• The ritual allegedly involves the “grinding of genital areas” on the victims
• An officer allegedly mounted one of the new hires and “rode him like a horse”
• An officer alleged that the “Party Boy Song” from the MTV shock series “Jackass” played in the background during one hazing episode

The three men face a potential of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

h/t: Newark Patch