Schenectady man accused of assaulting child of witness will remain in jail

A Schenectady man accused of assaulting the child of a witness who testified in his brother and father’s drug trafficking trial will remain in jail.

Patrick Civitello, 18, is accused of striking the victim on May 19 outside the Max310 Restaurant at the Water’s Edge in Glenville (formerly the Water’s Edge Lighthouse).

The judge had initially agreed to release Civitello to home confinement with electronic monitoring. However, he remained in jail after prosecutors appealed the decision on the grounds that he posed a threat to the community.

U.S. District Court Judge Mae D’Agostino issued a decision on Friday ordering him to remain behind bars.

Prosecutors presented text messages in which Civitello appears to be engaged in trafficking marijuana, including threatening violence to people who do not pay their debts, according to court documents.

Investigators also found videos on his phones that appeared to show him handling bags of marijuana and marijuana products. They also found a tote bag with at least $10,000 in cash and marijuana and packaging for marijuana products in his vehicle.

D’Agostino ordered Civitello to be placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, prosecutors said.

The Times Union first reported the story.