File photo. Photo by James Short.
A Whitpain man and former Montgomery County Community College radio station manager faces two felony charges by Whitpain Township detectives after he allegedly hid suspected feces in a conduit box in the floor of the radio studio as vengeance in April.
Police issued a warrant May 15 for the arrest of Joseph Charles Valenti Jr., 28, of the 1400 block of Limekiln Pike, Dresher on charges of felony vandalism of an educational facility, felony criminal mischief by damaging property, and misdemeanor disorderly conduct for an incident alleged to occur between 3:45 p.m. and 4:55 p.m. April 11.
Valenti’s accused actions caused the studio to be shut down for days as the college spent $7,886 on cleaning and disinfecting costs, police said.
On April 18, detectives met with a representative from the campus radio station, who reported that he was notified by another radio club member at 8 p.m. April 11 of a foul odor in the studio, per the complaint. On April 12, the representative and another club member went to investigate the odor at the studio; they noticed the odor and said it smelled like feces, per the affidavit.
Police said college facilities personnel were able to locate the source of the odor in an electrical box in the floor under the radio control panel. A foul-smelling substance was found on the wires inside the box and smeared on the underside of the panel cover, police said.
Radio staff suspected Valenti, the former station manager, of spreading the substance in the studio and reported as such to campus security and college administration, police allege in the complaint.
Police contacted the college’s director of campus safety on April 19, who was aware of the incident, and said the college was doing its own internal investigation. On May 1, detectives received an email from college security stating the college is moving forward with criminal charges, police said. Furthermore, between April 19 and May 1, even more of the unknown substance was located elsewhere in the radio studio, per the complaint.
Later on May 1, college security emailed detectives, stating that Valenti, police allege, admitted to spreading a substance in the radio station that was not feces, rather a mixture of casein protein and lactose.
Police interviewed club members who had access to the studio before and after Valenti. It was determined that there was no abnormal odors in the studio on April 11 between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., but definitely smelled something similar to a dead animal or dirty diaper in the studio on April 16, police said.
A third club member was interviewed on May 2, who occupied the studio from 5:35 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. April 11. This member also noticed a stale odor and assumed one of the other members failed to shower that day, police said.
Police discovered, via special card access records, Valenti was the last person to be in the studio about 45 minutes prior to the member’s arrival at 5:35 p.m. April 11, according to the complaint. Police said Valenti was bitter about the fact he was no longer station manager.
During the investigation, detectives reviewed surveillance footage of the hallway between the studio and the men’s restroom in the Advanced Technology Center of the campus on April 11. Police said Valenti is seen concealing something in his hooded sweatshirt and in front of his waistband in the video on two occasions, at 3:49 p.m. and 4:55 p.m.
Furthermore, police allege Valenti used his special card access to enter the studio four times on April 11. The first one to access after Valenti left the studio was the third member interviewed by police who reported an unusual odor at the time, police said.
Magisterial District Judge Marc A. Alfrarano set Valenti’s bail at $10,000 unsecured at his May 22 arraignment, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 11 at 10 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
