Court date for former chief now set for spring
By: Cara Latham
BORDENTOWN CITY A witness for the state has agreed to testify in a trial beginning May 1 against suspended Police Chief Philip Castagna, who is charged with conspiring to murder his ex-wife.
Jack Smith, a spokesman for the Burlington County prosecutor’s office, said Tuesday that Gary Hall, 43, had indicated to a detective that he would testify. The detective had been sent to Florida to meet with Mr. Hall last week.
Mr. Hall, who is serving a prison sentence in Florida on a robbery conviction, reportedly had previously decided not to testify as a witness in the case.
Mr. Castagna, 45, who lives in Bordentown, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and arson in an alleged plot to kill his ex-wife, Joyce Leopold, in a 2003 fire that damaged the back of the couple’s house in Burlington. Ms. Leopold, who was separated from her husband when the fire occurred, was not injured in the blaze.
From the beginning, Mr. Castagna has maintained that the Burlington County prosecutor’s office paid Mr. Hall about $40,000 to set him up. Prosecutors have stated that Mr. Hall whose identity was kept under wraps until Mr. Castagna’s attorney, Robin Lord of Trenton, learned it last year made electronic recordings of himself speaking with Mr. Castagna about a plot to have Ms. Leopold killed.
Jury selection for the trial was slated to begin in January in state Superior Court in Burlington County, but was pushed back, as the judge told both the prosecution and defense that he needed more time.
Mr. Smith previously said that the delay may have been due to an issue with evidence that was raised by the defense. The judge granted the defense a delay to review the evidence.
Mr. Castagna said Tuesday his lawyer "discovered multiple inconsistencies on the state’s behalf, and we look forward to our day in court, when we can present…the conspiracy against me."
Further, he said, he was confident that "when the evidence is out in the open, and for people to see, they will see the conspiracy and lies and false police reports that have been trumped up against me," and that he will be found not guilty.
He said he looks forward to going back to Bordentown and "leading the department, and get them in shape."
In mid-November, state Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Smith Jr. denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the charges.
Also in November 2006, the state Supreme Court declined to hear the prosecutor’s appeal of an appellate court decision that had overturned Mr. Castagna’s 2004 contempt of court conviction for allegedly violating a restraining order obtained by Ms. Leopold.
In 2004, Mr. Castagna was found guilty of harassment, a petty disorderly persons offense, and contempt of a judicial order in connection with a restraining order obtained by Ms. Leopold. The convictions caused Mr. Castagna to lose his position as police chief in May 2004.
State Superior Court Judge James Morley in Mount Holly also ruled then that Mr. Castagna could never again hold public office or own a weapon.
Appellate Judges Edwin H. Stern, Lorraine C. Parker and Jane Grall overturned the contempt convictions in August, saying that Mr. Castagna who appealed the initial ruling 10 months ago had not violated the restraining order by visiting with his ex-wife’s uncle, Sam Celia.

