Another person has been charged with evidence tampering in the death of Craig Rideout. Paul Tucci, the boyfriend of Rideout’s estranged wife, has been formally charged with helping Laura Rideout clean up blood evidence in the basement of Craig Rideout’s Penfield town home. He pled not guilty.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say Laura Rideout has submitted to a court order and given a DNA swab. It will be matched against a woman’s DNA found on a Diet Coke bottle in Craig Rideout’s basement.
That’s where the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office believes Rideout was killed before his body was driven to Yates County and dumped off a rural road in the Town of Jerusalem.
Tucci was brought into Penfield Court this afternoon. His case was waived to a grand jury and he will be released on $25,000 bail.
Court documents say Tucci and Laura Rideout were seen on surveillance video buying a tarp and bungee cords at the Hudson Avenue Walmart — and a Diet Coke — the night before Craig Rideout’s body was found wrapped in a tarp with bungee cords in Yates County. They also bought drain cleaner, and drain cleaner was used in an attempt to disfigure Craig Rideout’s face.
Laura Rideout and her two sons are also charged with evidence tampering for trying to clean up blood and other materials in Craig Rideout’s townhouse.