This was in the New London Day Today:

Groton — The case of a drug dealer accused of murder had been one of Lt. John Varone's most difficult investigations because witnesses were afraid to tell police what they knew, the veteran Groton Town Police detective says.

But that investigation was a “cakewalk,” Varone said, compared to what police faced for eight months as they tried to determine what led to the Jan. 28 alcohol-fueled crash that killed 16-year-old Cameron Lee of Groton and two people in another car, John Geise of Mystic and Wayne Lecardo of Groton.

In report after report, detectives and officers said that when they asked teens about who provided the alcohol Lee drank that night, all of them said the same thing: That there was beer at the large party on Farmstead Avenue that Lee attended, but they did not know where it came from and never saw him drinking.

“I've never seen a code of silence like this before,” said Varone, who has been a detective for the past decade. “This was a very hard case for us to investigate.”

Cameron Lee left the Farmstead Avenue party, and when his car crossed the center line on Flanders Road and burst into flames after striking the car carrying Geise, 52, and Lecardo, 33, he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12. Lee, whose car was traveling 101 mph five seconds before the crash, was legally intoxicated and violating the restrictions on his license by driving with a passenger and after midnight.

Police said they wanted to find the source of the alcohol to close their investigation and cut off a potential supplier of alcohol to minors, possibly preventing another tragedy. The supplier would face 18 months in prison and a $1,500 fine.

“No one can change the fact that someone brought alcohol to a residence and then someone drank it and then operated a motor vehicle. That can't change,” Varone said. “We just want to get to the truth. We want to be able to give the families closure.

“There are a lot of families that are ruined over this. Parents lost their kids. Kids who have lost their parents, and families have suffered the emotional consequences of that night.”
Varone said he was not necessarily surprised by the lack of cooperation. Many of Lee's friends have said in e-mails, letters to The Day and postings on the newspaper's Web site that it serves no purpose to blame anyone in connection with the crash.

Varone said that police conducting investigations sometimes run across people who do not want to talk to them or tell the truth.
“And we can't force them,” he said.

In the case of the investigation into the 2001 killing of Eric Dames, Groton Town police last year had to take the unusual step of arresting two witnesses to ensure their testimony at the trial. The pair had failed to appear at the first trial of drug dealer Michael Smith because they feared for their lives. Another witness could not be found. Others were reluctant to help police.
•••One of those present at the Groton house party in January was Michael Grater, who had been friends with Cameron Lee since elementary school.

Grater, who attends Robert E. Fitch High School, said Sunday that he spoke to Lee at the party but left after an hour because it with getting crowded with students from Fitch, Stonington and St. Bernard high schools. Grater said he did not know who brought beer to the party.
In a report filed by Groton Detective David Doan, Doan describes a March interview with Grater at his home. Doan reported that Grater said there was beer at the party, but he had not seen Lee drinking and did not know where it came from.

Doan said that when Michael Grater's mother left the room during the interview, the teenager said Lee might have been drinking. Before Doan could clarify the remark, Kathleen Grater returned and told Doan he was upsetting her son and asked him to leave. Doan said he had only spoken to Michael Grater for about six minutes.

The report also states that Grater's father, Mark, an attorney, indicated police could not interview his son again but said he would ask Michael about the party. The report states that Mark Grater told police his son suffers from a condition that makes him get upset easily. Michael Grater suffers from a neurological condition that has left him partly disabled and makes his speech unclear at times, according to his mother.

On Sunday, Kathleen Grater said she and her son wanted to cooperate but police kept asking him the same questions over and over even though he couldn't provide them with any additional information.
“We feel horrible about what happened. It's a terrible thing that happened, but he told the police everything he could,” said Kathleen Grater, who said she also knows Geise's widow, Jennifer.

••• Varone said his department's investigation was as extensive as any probe into a major crime. He said the initial commitment by the department involved all officers on duty that night as well as additional officers called in for the accident reconstruction. Three detectives were initially assigned to the case, with a minimum of two always working on it. He said Ledyard police, state police and the New London State's Attorney's Office all provided invaluable assistance.

Varone said half of the investigation involved reconstructing the technical aspects of how the crash occurred while the other half centered on why it happened. The latter involved looking into the lives of the victims to see where they were and what they were doing in the 24 hours before the crash. Geise and Lecardo were driving home after finishing their shifts at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where they worked as butlers.

“It was very complicated. We had to go back and trace (all three) lives and talk to enough people to feel comfortable about what was going on,” Varone said.
Police interviewed more than 50 people. Varone said tracking down what Lee did from the time he left his home for the party at about 9 p.m. and the crash, which happened four and a half hours later, was difficult.

“We obviously wanted to look at the party and determine if there was anything criminal in nature there,” he said.

Thus far, police have been able to charge only the 17-year-old boy who hosted the party on Farmstead Avenue. He was issued an infraction for permitting a minor to illegally possess liquor on private property, which carries a fine of $146. The teen was not identified because state law bars the release of names of minors charged with all but the most serious crimes. His parents were not charged because they were out of town and unaware of the party at their home.
The teen has the choice of pleading no contest and paying the fine or pleading not guilty. His decision is not yet available; the state's Centralized Infractions Bureau said Monday it has not yet logged the outcome of the ticket.

If he pays the fine, the admission cannot be used against him or his family in any of the civil lawsuits expected. A not guilty plea would expose him to a guilty finding, which could be used in a civil case.

Varone said he hopes teenagers, including his own son, learn from the crash.
“This was an absolute tragedy. The only good that can come from this is if teenagers stop and make good choices. Don't drink and drive and follow the rules,” he said.

*** My Friend Wayne Lecardo lost his life along with his friend John Geise due to someone giving liquor to a minor. They have destroyed (2) families, Wayne's wife is too young to be a widow. John left behind a wife and kids, where is the justice for them?