Ex-police officer pleads guilty in stalking case

11/3/2005

TIFFIN A former Fostoria police sergeant has pleaded guilty to two felony charges related to allegations that he stalked and threatened his estranged wife more than two years ago.

Nick Portentoso was convicted Tuesday in Seneca County Common Pleas Court of attempted aggravated assault and menacing by stalking. Two counts of disrupting public service and single counts of possession of cocaine and intimidation were dismissed in a plea deal.

Portentoso could be sentenced to 2 years in prison, given a lesser jail term, or placed under community control. He resigned from the Fostoria police force in April, 2003. An indictment alleged that he threatened his then-wife, Kathleen, with a gun Feb. 7, 2003, at her home in Loudon Township. He also was charged with damaging a telephone and a cell phone belonging to her.

The plea agreement that we worked out is pretty favorable, said Lucinda Weller, an attorney for Portentoso.