August 28th 03, 05:36 PM
http://tinyurl.com/lh8i
Murderer's rep as rat preceded long rap sheet
By Tom Farmer, Laurel J. Sweet and Maggie Mulvihill / Boston Herald
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Long before Darrin E. Smiledge was sent to spend the rest of his life in
prison, where he has been a problem inmate for nearly 15 years, he had a
reputation with North Shore police as a snitch who would dime out anyone to
get himself out of trouble.
"He's just a rat," one source said.
Almost from his birth in Danvers in 1965, Smiledge, who changed his name in
prison to Joseph L. Druce, was on a collision course with a hate-fueled
life of violence in which he would murder one man and is accused of killing
another as well as numerous other acts of violence accompanied by drug
arrests.
"If there's ever a poster boy for the death penalty, he's it," said
Gloucester police Chief Michael McLeod. "No matter what you may think of
(slain pedophile former priest John) Geoghan, he paid the price."
McLeod first busted Druce in September 1986 when he was a punk named Darrin
E. Smiledge in possession of pot and LSD and again in 1988 after Druce
bound and kidnapped gay Gloucester bus driver George Rollo, 51, before
beating and strangling him.
Smiledge was sentenced to life without parole for Rollo's heinous killing
and will face another murder charge for allegedly killing Geoghan the same
way Saturday.
Geoghan's grisly death, McLeod said, "was an instant replay of what he did
to George Rollo.
"(Druce) was just a strange man," McLeod said. "He hated everybody. He
didn't have a good word about anybody. He was angry."
The year before Druce killed Rollo, he was arrested in Boston for trying to
rob a Dorchester man who had given him a ride, much like he did to Rollo.
"Victim (Walter B. Cavagnaro) was giving suspect a ride when suddenly
suspect pulled a knife and demanded victim's wallet and key to vehicle,"
Boston officer Robert P. Harrington wrote on a complaint charging Druce
with armed robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle and assault and battery with
a dangerous weapon. "Victim refused to give his wallet and the suspect cut
him in his hand requiring 11 stitches to close. Victim got out and suspect
fled in victim's motor vehicle."
Druce pleaded guilty to the charges in 1990 and was given a three- to
five-year term to serve concurrently with his life sentence.
Police on the North Shore, where Druce grew up, said he had a reputation
for being a snitch to get himself out of trouble. Only 5 feet tall and 135
pounds, he was a known gay-basher, and whispers by some police officers
that Druce had engaged in homosexual activity only amplified his hate.
There are unsubstantiated claims, including from his father, Druce was
sexually molested as a youngster.
He agreed to a jailhouse interview with the Beverly Times in 1989 so he
could dispute he was gay.
"It's this homosexual (expletive). It ain't true," he said. "I hate queers.
I hate fags."
Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Druce was put on
Ritalin and Thorazine as a child and teenager. He spent most of his
adolescence in the custody of the Department of Youth Services and then did
time in adult jail. In between, he was committed numerous times for
psychiatric care and attended alternative schools but never got a high
school diploma.
Danvers police Chief Stuart Chase did "adjustment counseling" for Druce
when Druce was a preteen and said he recognized his face immediately from
the Geoghan news coverage.
"He was a troubled kid when I knew him," Chase said. "You could tell he was
in jeopardy, but who knew it would come to this? He was a handsome kid. He
could have been a movie star."
Druce has had dozens of disciplinary problems since entering prison in
1989. Department of Correction officials would not provide the Herald with
his disciplinary record yesterday.
Druce was transferred from Massachusetts to the highest-security prison in
Rhode Island on Dec. 14, 1990, under a pact the two states have to trade
high-profile inmates or prisoners with disciplinary problems, said Albert
Bucci, a spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Correction.
Druce was locked up in the Adult Correction Institution in Cranston - a
"high-security facility for long-term violent offenders, offenders with
behavioral problems or who need protective custody," Bucci said.
While he was a Rhode Island inmate, Druce had plenty of problems. He was
disciplined 18 different times during the 14 months he was housed in
Cranston, Bucci said.
On June 27, 1991, Druce was sent back to Massachusetts, and the next day he
was shipped back to Rhode Island, Bucci said. Bucci said he could not
immediately provide details on why Druce was sent back to Rhode Island
within 24 hours of leaving ACI.
Druce stayed in Rhode Island until Aug. 11, 1992, when he was "discharged"
to another state, Bucci said. He said he was unable to immediately
determine if Druce was sent back to Massachusetts or to another location.
Robin Washington and David Weber contributed to this report.
© Copyright of CNC and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
************************************************** *************************
****
Murderer's rep as rat preceded long rap sheet
By Tom Farmer, Laurel J. Sweet and Maggie Mulvihill / Boston Herald
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Long before Darrin E. Smiledge was sent to spend the rest of his life in
prison, where he has been a problem inmate for nearly 15 years, he had a
reputation with North Shore police as a snitch who would dime out anyone to
get himself out of trouble.
"He's just a rat," one source said.
Almost from his birth in Danvers in 1965, Smiledge, who changed his name in
prison to Joseph L. Druce, was on a collision course with a hate-fueled
life of violence in which he would murder one man and is accused of killing
another as well as numerous other acts of violence accompanied by drug
arrests.
"If there's ever a poster boy for the death penalty, he's it," said
Gloucester police Chief Michael McLeod. "No matter what you may think of
(slain pedophile former priest John) Geoghan, he paid the price."
McLeod first busted Druce in September 1986 when he was a punk named Darrin
E. Smiledge in possession of pot and LSD and again in 1988 after Druce
bound and kidnapped gay Gloucester bus driver George Rollo, 51, before
beating and strangling him.
Smiledge was sentenced to life without parole for Rollo's heinous killing
and will face another murder charge for allegedly killing Geoghan the same
way Saturday.
Geoghan's grisly death, McLeod said, "was an instant replay of what he did
to George Rollo.
"(Druce) was just a strange man," McLeod said. "He hated everybody. He
didn't have a good word about anybody. He was angry."
The year before Druce killed Rollo, he was arrested in Boston for trying to
rob a Dorchester man who had given him a ride, much like he did to Rollo.
"Victim (Walter B. Cavagnaro) was giving suspect a ride when suddenly
suspect pulled a knife and demanded victim's wallet and key to vehicle,"
Boston officer Robert P. Harrington wrote on a complaint charging Druce
with armed robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle and assault and battery with
a dangerous weapon. "Victim refused to give his wallet and the suspect cut
him in his hand requiring 11 stitches to close. Victim got out and suspect
fled in victim's motor vehicle."
Druce pleaded guilty to the charges in 1990 and was given a three- to
five-year term to serve concurrently with his life sentence.
Police on the North Shore, where Druce grew up, said he had a reputation
for being a snitch to get himself out of trouble. Only 5 feet tall and 135
pounds, he was a known gay-basher, and whispers by some police officers
that Druce had engaged in homosexual activity only amplified his hate.
There are unsubstantiated claims, including from his father, Druce was
sexually molested as a youngster.
He agreed to a jailhouse interview with the Beverly Times in 1989 so he
could dispute he was gay.
"It's this homosexual (expletive). It ain't true," he said. "I hate queers.
I hate fags."
Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Druce was put on
Ritalin and Thorazine as a child and teenager. He spent most of his
adolescence in the custody of the Department of Youth Services and then did
time in adult jail. In between, he was committed numerous times for
psychiatric care and attended alternative schools but never got a high
school diploma.
Danvers police Chief Stuart Chase did "adjustment counseling" for Druce
when Druce was a preteen and said he recognized his face immediately from
the Geoghan news coverage.
"He was a troubled kid when I knew him," Chase said. "You could tell he was
in jeopardy, but who knew it would come to this? He was a handsome kid. He
could have been a movie star."
Druce has had dozens of disciplinary problems since entering prison in
1989. Department of Correction officials would not provide the Herald with
his disciplinary record yesterday.
Druce was transferred from Massachusetts to the highest-security prison in
Rhode Island on Dec. 14, 1990, under a pact the two states have to trade
high-profile inmates or prisoners with disciplinary problems, said Albert
Bucci, a spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Correction.
Druce was locked up in the Adult Correction Institution in Cranston - a
"high-security facility for long-term violent offenders, offenders with
behavioral problems or who need protective custody," Bucci said.
While he was a Rhode Island inmate, Druce had plenty of problems. He was
disciplined 18 different times during the 14 months he was housed in
Cranston, Bucci said.
On June 27, 1991, Druce was sent back to Massachusetts, and the next day he
was shipped back to Rhode Island, Bucci said. Bucci said he could not
immediately provide details on why Druce was sent back to Rhode Island
within 24 hours of leaving ACI.
Druce stayed in Rhode Island until Aug. 11, 1992, when he was "discharged"
to another state, Bucci said. He said he was unable to immediately
determine if Druce was sent back to Massachusetts or to another location.
Robin Washington and David Weber contributed to this report.
© Copyright of CNC and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
************************************************** *************************
****