FEDERAL AGENT CONVICTED IN ROAD RAGE TRIAL April 6, 2007 A federal agent was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs today after a Superior Court jury found him guilty of felony assault charges and a judge ordered his bail revoked, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced. Jurors today convicted THOMAS PORRO, 35 (D.O.B. 8/9/71), of assault with a dangerous weapon - a motor vehicle - for intentionally swerving into 46-year-old motorcycle enthusiast Frank Merlonghi as Merlonghi rode home on his Harley Davidson with a friend on the evening of March 29, 2006. Porro will be sentenced at 9:00 Monday morning in courtroom 314 of the Suffolk County Courthouse. A West Roxbury resident, Porro is employed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and is assigned to the Bureau of Export Enforcement. He is currently on administrative leave from that assignment. Jurors yesterday convicted Porro of leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury for speeding away from the collision and driving his government-issued vehicle to a New Hampshire auto body shop. They acquitted Porro of additional charges that he flashed his issued firearm during the incident. Porro had originally been charged with aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the collision. Jurors declared themselves deadlocked on that charge yesterday but returned to their deliberations after Judge Linda Giles urged them to seek a unanimous decision. Early today, they asked if they could consider the lesser included offense of assault with a dangerous weapon - also a felony - and Giles informed them that they could; the jury returned its verdict about half an hour later. Immediately after the verdict was returned, Assistant District Attorney John Powers moved to revoke Porro's $10,000 bail; Giles accommodated that request, citing the likelihood that Porro would face incarceration for his offenses. Porro was represented at trial by attorney Charles Rankin. Evidence introduced during the four-day trial proved that Merlonghi, a South Boston resident, was riding home with a fellow motorcyclist when Porro cut him off on Congress Street in a 2004 silver Nissan Maxima. The two men exchanged words, and Porro admitted to unholstering his firearm. Evidence also showed that, as they drove on nearby Summer Street near the Fargo Building, Porro swerved sharply into the left hand lane, striking Merlonghi and his motorcycle. Witnesses described Porro as making "a hard, fast motion" into the motorcycle. Merlonghi was thrown into the air and crashed into the median strip. Merlonghi suffered grievous injuries as a result of the impact: his right arm and leg sustained multiple fractures, he suffered injuries to his ribs and shoulder, and a large amount of skin was shorn from his body. Boston Medical Center doctors placed him in a coma while they worked to graft skin onto his arm and leg. Immediately after the incident, Porro sped off. Another witness attempted to give chase but was unable to keep up; Merlonghi's friend, Bart Loftus, called 911 to report the incident and gave the operator Porro's license plate number. Boston Police detectives assigned to the case were unable to find any vehicle with the plate number Loftus called in. Only when one of them played a hunch and checked a list of "hidden plates" used by law enforcement agencies did they learn that the plate matched a silver Nissan Maxima owned by the Department of Commerce. That car was ultimately linked to Porro, who refused to divulge the whereabouts of the vehicle and was arrested on April 4, 2006. The investigation ultimately led detectives to a repair shop in Hudson, New Hampshire, where they seized the car as evidence. It had obvious damage consistent with a collision with Merlonghi's motorcycle, and the shop owner told detectives that a former employee had asked to use the garage to repair a car for a friend. He identified a photo of Porro as that friend. "These verdicts are a victory not for police or prosecutors, but for Frank Merlonghi, who will always carry scars from the events of March 29, 2006. We can never undo what happened that day, but we are confident that justice prevailed on his behalf." Return to the Press Releases page.