'SVU' actor, Insinnia, charged with child porn possession

An actor who once played a lieutenant on NBC's "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said Tuesday. Albert Insinnia, 57, of Bloomfield, turned himself into the Passaic County Sheriff's Department in Wayne on Monday and was released on bail Tuesday morning, said sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer. Insinnia was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography after authorities allegedly discovered 180 images of child porn on the hard drive of the actor's laptop computer. Reached at his home Tuesday afternoon, Insinnia told The Associated Press he had no comment, but his lawyer, Joseph Portelli, said he planned to plead not guilty at an arraignment Tuesday afternoon. "I understand what he's been charged with, but I do have to say that based on my conversations with him and the authorities involved, I sincerely believe he's not guilty," said Portelli, who mentioned that his client also works as a real estate agent. According to Portelli, the hard drive on Insinnia's computer has been transferred various times in the last few years and a variety of people have had access to it. [...]

The investigation began after Insinnia took his computer to a Best Buy electronics store in West Paterson for repairs. A technician found the images, police said, and alerted a police detective working security at the store. According to his biography on a Web site for the film "Over the GW," Insinnia has been acting for more than 30 years. He's appeared on Broadway and played Lt. Pizelli on a couple episodes of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

source: Article < 'SVU' actor, Insinnia, charged with child porn possession >; www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--actor-childporn0814aug14,0,3187262.story; newsday.com (The Associated Press); 14 August 2007