Water Coolers Harvard's $100K Mistake

In acknowledgment of a $100,000 mistake, the University has agreed to give back pay to two Harvard security guards who were tried last December for allegedly stealing two water coolers from the Law School.

The two guards, George D. Perry and Michael J. Auterio, were acquitted on December 23 after the case against them--which was largely based on erroneous evidence acculmulated during a Harvard police investigation--crumbled in open court.

As part of an agreement reached earlier this spring, Perry will receive approximately $9,000 and Auterio will get $5,500 to make up for time they were suspended without pay. Harvard has also agreed to pay the two men's legal fees for the criminal trial, sources said.

The payments to Perry and Auterio bring the cost of the investigation and trial to more than $100,000, according to police and court sources. The two coolers at issue in the case retail for $219 each, according to their manufacturer, Poland Springs.

While costly, the payments to the guards may actually save Harvard some money. Sources close to both Perry and Auterio said they would have sued the University if they did not receive back pay.

Auterio declined to comment, and Perry could not be reached.

University officials have said before that the cost of the trial is not a significant issue.

"The problem is in any case, regardless of whether it's a misdemeanor or a felony, costs are incurred," said Harvard Police Lt. John F. Rooney. "We're not in the business of weighing the costs. Our only job is to make sure justice is done."

But the two guards and several department sources said that there was only a trial because of mistakes made by Rooney.

Under cross-examination by Perry's attorney, William P. Homans '41, Rooney acknowledged that the department had submitted information that turned out to be false on a sworn affidavit in order to obtain a warrant tosearch Perry's home.

The Trial

The trial of the two guards was a frequentlyawkward and occasionally bizarre affair for theHarvard Police Department. The case badly dividedofficers, some of whom are personal friends of thetwo guards.

The case was dominated by a key paradox: evenas the department's senior leadership, in anattempt to defend its investigation, argued thatPerry and Auterio were guilty of theft, the guardsremained employees in good standing with theHarvard Police Department. Their boss, Manager ofOperations for Security Robert J. Dowling, eventestified for the defense.

Perry and Auterio admitted taking one watercooler each from a loading dock next to the LawSchool's Harkness Commons after Commencement lastJune. Both men said they thought the coolers weretrash, and Auterio actually returned his to a LawSchool garbage dumpster more than a month beforeUniversity police began investigating the case

The Trial

The trial of the two guards was a frequentlyawkward and occasionally bizarre affair for theHarvard Police Department. The case badly dividedofficers, some of whom are personal friends of thetwo guards.

The case was dominated by a key paradox: evenas the department's senior leadership, in anattempt to defend its investigation, argued thatPerry and Auterio were guilty of theft, the guardsremained employees in good standing with theHarvard Police Department. Their boss, Manager ofOperations for Security Robert J. Dowling, eventestified for the defense.

Perry and Auterio admitted taking one watercooler each from a loading dock next to the LawSchool's Harkness Commons after Commencement lastJune. Both men said they thought the coolers weretrash, and Auterio actually returned his to a LawSchool garbage dumpster more than a month beforeUniversity police began investigating the case