Landlord sentenced in teen pornography case

Richard A. Bruno Jr. will serve 16 years in prison for producing video of a 17-year-old tenant

New Haven — Landlord Richard A. Bruno Jr., sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in federal prison for producing a pornographic video of a 17-year-old tenant from New London, admitted he was a sex addict who probably wouldn’t have stopped unless he was caught.

“I’ve been careless with a video camera,” he said. “That’s clear. I did spend a lot of time doing it. I was living recklessly.”

In addition to producing at least 46 pornographic videos, investigators learned Bruno was encouraging tenants to trade sex for rent money, surreptitiously filming females at beaches and stores while focusing on their breasts, and engaging in sadistic activities such as creating a feature-length animated film in which home invaders rape a woman and her daughter in front of the woman’s husband and son, according to the government.

The 47-year-old former Waterford resident, paler, heavier and with more facial hair than when he was arrested 16 months ago, spoke at length as he stood before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer for sentencing. Bruno begged the judge to impose just the mandatory minimum period of 15 years’ imprisonment, saying he was confident he would not offend again.

“I just don’t see myself messing around with minors anymore,” he said. “It’s just not that important.”

In adding a year of imprisonment to the mandatory minimum for production of child pornography, Judge Meyer cited Bruno’s lack of insight into the harm he caused, concerns about his mental health, how difficult it would be for Bruno to change and the need to keep the public safe.

“I’m not sure you have a good sense of how perverted what you were doing was,” Meyer said. “People who have your predilections and your background, they only overcome this, if they do at all, through years of intense therapy.”

The judge imposed 10 years of supervised release upon completion of the prison term, ordered Bruno to register as a sexual offender and said Bruno would be subject to searches of his home and electronic devices. He ordered Bruno to undergo mental health treatment and polygraph examinations at his own expense if Bruno has the means to pay.

Bruno called himself a “beaten-down man” who was “murdered” in his divorce with his wife, Kem Bruno, manager of her family’s livery business, Curtin Transportation Group. He had owned a plumbing company and served as property manager for dozens of rental properties he co-owned with his wife. The wife filed for divorce after Bruno’s initial arrest in May 2016 for enticing an undercover state trooper posing as a 13-year-old to meet him at a Dunkin’ Donuts ready to be spanked and wearing “something he could rip off her.” Charges related to that incident are pending in New London Superior Court.

Attorney James Wade addressed the judge on behalf of the defendant’s ex-wife, describing the harm he had caused to her, their children and her family business, with which Bruno was not involved.

“Mrs. Bruno herself had nothing to do with this,” Wade said. “She is collateral damage.”

In his plea for leniency, Bruno assured the judge he would stay away from social media, calling it “the lure of the devil,” and would not get a camera. He said he likes adult women, not minors, and that being around prostitutes in New London on a regular basis (as he collected rents and maintained his properties) became a habit that was hard to break.

“New London definitely ate me up,” Bruno said.

The judge said New London was not to blame for Bruno’s behavior.

“Sir, there’s prostitution everywhere,” the judge said. “New London is no special example.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford said Bruno used his rental properties as “feeding grounds for his depravity” and targeted vulnerable victims. She said he attempted to groom one child with the offering of an American Girl doll, punished a 17-year-old tenant who refused his advances by making her family get rid of their dog, and once entered an apartment uninvited and sexually touched an 11-year-old girl who was home alone with her younger brother.

When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bruno’s warehouse at 19 Mountain Ave. in New London, they found a disturbing scene, according to Gifford. On the second floor of the warehouse was a mattress with a chain attached to the ceiling and a mirror positioned as a headboard. The officers found rope, belts, handcuffs, gags, female clothing and costumes. There was an enclosed room that may have served as a “scream room” to muffle the sounds of his activities.

Representatives of some of Bruno’s victims attended the sentencing hearing, along with investigating officers from New London police, the FBI and Connecticut State Police. But the 17-year-old tenant Bruno had filmed at the Mountain Avenue warehouse in exchange for cash and marijuana found it “too painful” to attend, according to her attorney, Jonathan J. Einhorn.

The teen received a settlement of $190,000 from Bruno under the Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act, a federal statute passed in 2006 that allows victims of child pornography and other sexual crimes to sue for damages, according to Einhorn.

In resolving his federal criminal charges, Bruno forfeited to the government the Mountain Avenue warehouse, a multi-family home at 27 West Coit St. in New London and a van owned by his plumbing company.

In the divorce, Bruno said he kept the property management company, Domco, and some of the rental homes. His attorney, Christopher Duby, redirected Bruno when he started complaining about how his ex-wife has rented apartments he owns to tenants who aren’t paying their bills.

Bruno lamented missing important milestones in his children’s lives and said upon his release, the only minors he is going to want to be around is his (future possible) grandchildren. He then added he thinks about what would happen if he wants to date anyone who has children.

He said if the 17.5-year-old victim of the child pornography crime was “just a few months older,” he probably wouldn’t be standing in front of the judge for sentencing. Sixteen-year-olds can legally consent to having sex under state law, but the federal age of consent is 18.

The prosecutor said Bruno’s statements demonstrated a “disturbing lack of self-awareness” and urged the judge to impose a sentence above the mandatory minimum.

Even Bruno’s claim that he was a good father was rebuffed. Judge Meyer noted a report that Bruno filmed a 13-year-old friend of his daughter from an upstairs window of his home, zooming in on the child’s breasts while she sat in a hot tub.

“You’re not a good father,” the judge said. “You betrayed your children. You’ve betrayed a lot of other people. I’ve heard precious little about that.”

Bruno said the judge’s words made him realize how selfish he is.

“I’ve fed my addiction for years,” he said. “A lot of people don’t like me anymore, don’t trust me. I can’t go home. I can’t go back to my town.”