New York, NY – New York City police officers pleaded not guilty Friday to a range of corruption charges in a sweeping probe touched off by an investigation into whether a Bronx officer had ties to a drug dealer.
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In total, 16 officers were arraigned in a packed courtroom. The halls were swarmed with people, and hundreds of officers carrying signs stood outside the courthouse and applauded as the accused officers walked through.
The Bronx officer, Jose Ramos, pleaded not guilty to drug and other charges. An internal affairs lieutenant pleaded not guilty to charges she leaked information to union officials about the probe. The rest of the officers pleaded not guilty to charges including official misconduct and obstructing governmental authority after prosecutors said they abused their authority by helping family and friends avoid paying traffic tickets.
The case evolved from a 2009 internal affairs probe of Ramos, who owned a barber shop and was suspected of allowing a friend to deal drugs out of it. Prosecutors said he also transported drugs in uniform.
“He sold his shield, he violated his oath,” Assistant District Attorney Omer Wiceyk said.
Wiceyk said Ramos was recorded as saying he “stopped caring about the law a long time ago.”
Ramos’ attorney, John Sandleitner, said the charges were ridiculous. “If he had done any of these things that they say, they would’ve arrested him two months ago. Or two years ago,” he said. “Why did they let him go to work, then?”
While listening to Ramos’ phone, investigators caught calls from people seeing if Ramos could fix tickets for them. The conversations led to more wiretaps that produced evidence of additional officers having similar conversations.
Internal affairs lieutenant Jennara Cobb, who pleaded not guilty to charges of divulging a wiretap, was accused of meeting with union officials about the probe. As a result, word spread through the department’s most powerful union and delegates started to alter the way they fixed tickets, prosecutor Jonathan Ortiz said.
“The investigation was significantly compromised because of her actions,” he said.
Her attorney, Philip Karasyk, said she denied the charges and had been unfairly singled out. She was released on bail.
“That wiretap was leaking like a sieve,” he said.
Many of those arrested include high level members of the union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the department’s most powerful with 22,000 members.
“This has been laid on the shoulders of police officers, but when the dust settles and we have our day in court, it will be clear that this is part of the NYPD at all levels,” union President Patrick Lynch said through a spokesman.
Among those charged were Bronx union delegates Officers Joseph Anthony, 46; Michael Hernandez, 35; and Brian McGuckin, 44. Officer Virgilio Bencosme, 33, and Officer Luis R. Rodriguez, 43, both of the 40th Precinct; Officer Christopher Scott, 41, of the 48th Precinct; Officer Jaime Payan, 37, of the 46th Precinct; Officer Eugene P. O’Reilly, 39, of the 45th Precinct; Officer Christopher Manzi, 41, of the 41st Precinct; and Jason Cenizal, 39, a former delegate from the 42nd Precinct.
Ramos’ supervisor, Jacob G. Solorzano, 41, was charged with misconduct. Sgt. Marc Manara, 39, Officer Ruben Peralta, 45, Jeffrey Regan, 37 and Officer Christopher Scott, 41, of the 48th Precinct were all charged with covering up an assault for a an acquaintance. Some of the charges also overlap to include ticket fixing.
The case doesn’t appear to rise to the level of the more notorious corruption scandals in the nation’s largest police department. But in terms of the number of officers facing criminal or internal administrative charges, the probe represents the largest crackdown on police accused of misconduct in recent memory. Dozens of other officers may face internal charges.
Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought conspiracy and other charges against five current and three former officers alleging they were part of a gun-running ring. In two other recent unrelated federal cases, one officer was charged with arresting a black man without cause and using a racial slur to describe the suspect, and another with using a law enforcement database to try to trump up charges against an innocent man.
The Cops just plead not guilty in NYPD corruption probe.
Why aren’t they out on the street doing their job instead of coming to show their support for a bunch of their fellow crooked cops???
What? This is not exactly a good sign”Hundreds of officers came to court Friday to show their support.” They support the “bad apples”???
Just a few bad apples.
And hundreds of their supporters.
Other than police officers taking money for “fixing” tickets this is no corruption and its very good they are their to show support for the injustice of trying to prosecute cops just to make a name for yourself. The fact is that those same prosecutors have called officers to “fix” tickets for themselves and family members. This has been done forever it is the way of the world. If you are not a criminal and know people in high places they can use their discretion to help you. That is not the same as trying to cover up a crime we are talking about moving violations or parking tickets here not misdemeanors or felonies. When a police officer stops someone for a violation he can use his discretion there is nothing that forces him to write you a summons. Now if after having written the summons he obtains new information that had he had prior to writing it he would not have written it then the common practice since the beginning of time was to take care of it. The number of cops who committed acts of corruption tied to this case are very few compared to the number that these prosecutors are going after. Those cops who took money should be punished because that is official misconduct.
Hey Bloomberg! Are these the New York’s “finest” you’re always raving about?
ALL NYPD cops just hung up a big guilty sign on their own forehead.
As long as the UNION shows their support for all these crooked cops and thousands of cops all come out to support the crooks, then ALL COPS show that they are ALL CORRUPT – all alike – because they all stick up and cover up each others crimes.
The “SWARMS OF COPS” have demonstrated here that cops have no real respect for the law, rather cops are POWER HUNGRY and without any respect for any law, they crack down only on the powerless and UPHOLD CRIME when it’s in their own interest.