Preliminary hearings ordered for retired detective facing drugs, witness intimidation charges

Criminal cases against a retired Allegheny County detective were remanded to a district court Thursday after plea negotiations faltered.

Raymond W. Bonacci, 59, of Murrysville was charged last year with drug offenses in connection with allegations that in 2019 he injected his then-juvenile son with testosterone and provided him with Adderall to enhance his performance on the Franklin Regional High School football team.

In a separate case, prosecutors accused Bonacci of victim intimidation, obstruction of justice and other related counts based on accusations that he encouraged his son to lie during the initial investigation. The son told investigators that he feared being cut out of his family and being assaulted by his father, according to court papers.

Prosecutors say the drug allegations first surfaced during an interview process when the son applied for a job as a state trooper.

Bonacci has denied wrongdoing.

Defense lawyer Michael DeRiso said the case against Bonacci was based on lies from his client’s son.

DeRiso said Bonacci initially waived his right to preliminary hearings last year amid ongoing plea bargain talks. Those negotiations were unsuccessful, DeRiso said, noting his client is entitled to challenge the cases against him at the district court level.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger, with consent from state attorney general prosecutors, agreed and remanded Bonacci’s cases for preliminary hearings to be heard by District Judge Judi Petrush in Murrysville.

Former Murrysville District Judge Charles Conway dismissed similar drug charges following a preliminary hearing in September 2023, when DeRiso argued the alleged crimes did not occur in Westmoreland County based on testimony from his client’s son. He contended Bonacci lived in Elizabeth, Allegheny County.

The state’s Attorney General’s Office took over the case last year and refiled the drug counts in Murrysville along with new allegations of witness intimidation.