MAYWOOD : Arson Charges Against Police Sergeant Dropped
A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tuesday dismissed charges against a Maywood police sergeant who had been accused of setting fires to abandoned buildings and lumberyards throughout the city.
Stephen Nagy, who was indicted in March, had been charged with five counts each of arson and attempted arson in fires that caused more than $1 million in damage. Prosecutors contended that Nagy, a decorated 11-year police veteran, set the fires between February and June of 1991 because he wanted to clean up the city.
Judge Lois Smaltz, however, ruled that there was insufficient evidence to try Nagy. Maywood Police Chief Ted Heidke said he planned to talk to Nagy this week about returning to the force, and said his department is “obligated to take him back.”
Nagy, who had been suspended without pay since his indictment, has not decided if he will go back to police work, said his attorney, Peter Giannini.
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