Ex-State Cop Dishes On Danvers Bar Brawl In Self-Published Book

DANVERS, MA -- In a self-published, tell-all book, ex-Massachusetts State Police Officer Leigh Genduso said radio host Howie Carr would prank call the Osborn Tavern asking to buy drugs from her after learning she had taken a job at the Danvers bar. Genduso writes that she "felt awful for the owners attention [sic] they may receive" and almost quit. But she was told to "ride it out," which led to a July 4 fight at the Osborn.

That fight led to the suspension of the bar's liquor license and increased scrutiny in the subsequent months that led to more violations and more disciplinary action by the Danvers Board of Selectmen. Genduso eventually quit shortly before she resigned from the State Police in August for failing to disclose her role as an un-indicted witness in a high-profile drug case against her ex-boyfriend.

In her book, which she is distributing for free as a PDF file, Genduso says the July 4 fight started when a friend of that ex-boyfriend, Sean Bucci, showed up at the Osborn. Genduso was not working that night, and she initially declined the bartender's offer to throw Bucci's friend out of the bar. When the friend, who Genduso did not name in her book, yelled at her, the fight broke out. The bartender suffered a concussion in the melee.

"I was on the other side of the bar in two seconds, in a beach dress with a bikini from being in Gloucester earlier, mind you! I walked over to Bucci's friend, and told him 'let's go.' He quickly responded with a [expletive delete] you I'm not leaving' when I slapped the beer bottle out of his hand and grabbed his shirt," Genduso wrote. Excerpts of the book were published on Turtleboy Sports Monday.

Genduso's Immunity Deal

Genduso was suspended from the State Police last February and was living in Peabody when she took the job at the Osborn. Genduso dealt marijuana with Bucci in the early 2000s. In exchange for immunity, Genduso testified against Bucci, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his 2007 trial.

After her 2007 testimony, Genduso eventually got a job as a civilian State Police dispatcher and applied to become a state police officer in 2012. She was hired in 2014. In her application she disclosed that she had used marijuana in 1999 but did not disclose her role in Bucci's operation or conviction.

A State Police report released in August said her "omissions and deceptive responses" were the reason the background check did not uncover ties to the drug dealer. The report only notes that Genduso was living with Daniel Risteen when she applied to become a state trooper in 2012. Risteen was third in command at the Massachusetts State Police until he retired in February. Nor does the report conclude that the inclusion of Risteen's friend Lieutenant Colonel Francis Hughes on the three-person review board that approved Genduso's background investigation was a factor in her hiring.

First In A Series Of Problems For The Osborn

Owners of the Osborn Tavern filed an appeal earlier this month of the suspension of its liquor license by the Danvers Board of Selectmen with the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Liquor law violations reported in November prompted Danvers Selectmen to suspend the Osborn Tavern's liquor license for four days. The tavern served the first day of its suspension, as scheduled, on Jan. 2.

That one-day suspension stemmed from the July 4th fight, but selectmen agreed to put off the suspension for one year and waive it if the bar did not violate terms of its license in that time frame.

On Nov. 2 police responded to a report of a fight that was started by a man and woman who were "heavily intoxicated," according to police reports. Then on Nov. 10, police found a man sleeping in his car behind the Osborn because, he told police, he was too drunk to drive home.

The troubled tavern's problems extend beyond the alleged liquor license violations. In June, Osborn Tavern LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. According to court documents, the Osborn Tavern has liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million. The case is still pending.

Beef With Howie Carr

Genduso says she was "miserable" working as a bartender and that her only real pleasure came when she threw patrons out.

"The first night I worked, I drove home in tears. My life had literally taken a drastic turn. I went from bartender to cop, back to bartender," she wrote. "I will say, however, I was always happy to be the one to physically escort patrons who were being kicked out. The look of surprise on a man's face when they are put in a walking arm bar by a 130 pound female is priceless. Not to mention I had a lot of anger built up that helped a tad."

Most of Genduso's book focuses on her time with the state police. She claims Carr's made prank phone calls before the fight and then his amplification of the news stories about the fight forced her to quit.

"I was in the press yet again for removing those guys out of the bar. After that, I texted the owner how sorry I was, thanked him from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to work there, and began looking again," she wrote.

For more on this story, see Turtleboy Sports. Subscribe to Danvers Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

2014 photo of Leigha Genduso by Massachusetts State Police.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).