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UConn hit-and-run probe widens

BY ANDREW STRICKLER | andrew.strickler@newsday.com

February 28, 2007

Anthony P. Alvino, 18 of Lindenhurst, who is charged in connection with the fatal hit-and run death of a University of Connecticut freshman leaves Superior Court in Vernon, Conn. (Newsday / Viorel Florescu / February 27, 2007)

VERNON, Conn. - Anthony Alvino and Michele Hall passed each other without a glance in a Connecticut courtroom as they made separate appearances yesterday in connection with the death of one of Hall's college classmates.

Their brief appearances came as a prosecutor in western New York continued to investigate whether Alvino's parents, Anthony and Donna Alvino, of Lindenhurst, tried to cover up their son's alleged role in a fatal hit-and-run at the University of Connecticut last month.

Also yesterday, University of Connecticut police said the arrests of two more people other than Alvino's parents were imminent. Maj. Ron Blicher said the arrests would be for activities that were not directly related to the accident, but instead occurred beforehand.

Alvino and Hall, of Wantagh, are charged in the hit-and-run death of Carlee Wines, 19, a UConn freshman from Manalapan, N.J., who police said was struck as she entered a crosswalk on campus on Jan. 20.

Neither Alvino nor Hall, both 18, spoke as they appeared before Superior Court Judge Patricia Swords, who yesterday transferred their cases to a court division which handles more serious charges. They are expected to enter pleas during a court appearance scheduled for March 30.

According to police, Alvino and two friends traveled to UConn's Storrs campus from upstate St. Bonaventure University and met up with Hall on Jan 19. The group drank vodka and attended parties before climbing in Alvino's Nissan SUV for a trip across campus. Police say that after hitting Wines, Alvino left the scene. Wines died two days later.

Wines family attorney Michael Jainchill of Hartford said the parents were grieving but had not expressed anger towards Alvino or Hall.

"They're not insensitive to the fact that these are young people, but it's all about making good decisions," Jainchill said. "And when you make a bad decision and then you lie about it, ... you just compound the problem."

Kara Satalin, 18, of Syracuse, who is facing charges for activities that occurred before the accident, including buying alcohol for a minor, also appeared in court yesterday. Her case was postponed until March 30. She has not entered a plea.

Two of Alvino's passengers alleged in statements to police that Alvino's parents tried to cover up the accident. Both said the Alvinos learned of the accident the day after the hit-and-run and met with their son and his friends in a motel near St. Bonaventure to encourage them to keep the incident a secret.

" have contacted us. They've shared some information with us," Cattaraugus County District Attorney Edward Sharkey told the Hartford Courant last week. "Beyond that, we're looking at it from how our investigation fits in with New York law."