Court soap opera ends — loudly

When he took the case of a former detective accused of beating and illegally recording an ex-girlfriend who is former Common Pleas judge, attorney Charles Peruto Jr. said, “If I lose, I’ll retire.”

After a two-day trial during which victim Leslie Fleisher testified, jurors found Lewis Palmer not guilty of aggravated and simple assault yesterday. But they did find him guilty of wiretapping, so does that constitute a loss?

“Come on, I didn’t even argue that,” Peruto said, noting that Palmer copped to making the recordings. “But if it was even simple assault, that’s a loss. Looks like I’m not going to retire.”

The domestic-violence case steeped in soap-opera dramatics didn’t end quietly, though. The personal attorney for Fleisher said yesterday that the prosecutor didn’t call to notify the victim that the jury had reached a verdict.

“I’m appalled by how they treated a victim of domestic violence,” said Samuel Stretton. Palmer now faces anywhere from probation to seven years.