Commander wired to snag drug-rap cop

The New York Daily News by JOHN MARZULLI - August 3, 2008

A top cop went undercover to catch one of his own. In what may have been an unprecedented technique to catch a Brooklyn detective suspected of corruption, a detective commander wore a wire to secretly tape conversations with the gumshoe in their precinct's squad room, the Daily News has learned. Sgt. Robert Kelly, the former head of the 90th Precinct detective squad in Williamsburg, became an undercover in his own office at the direction of the FBI agents who were investigating Detective Luis Batista for alleged illicit ties to a violent drug gang. "Sgt. Kelly wore a hidden audio recorder and engaged Detective Batista in conversation in an attempt to get him to make incriminating statements," said papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

"The implications of having an undercover officer not just inside the detective squad, but as Batista's commanding officer, are enormous," the papers state. It apparently wasn't a stretch for Kelly, who had previously worked in the police Internal Affairs Bureau. Batista's lawyer, however, called the move shocking. "It's unprecedented that a commanding officer of a detective squad would engage in this. It's scary stuff," said James Moschella, who represents thousands of NYPD detectives, lieutenants and captains. Kelly has since been handsomely rewarded with a pay raise and assigned to the prestigious Joint Terrorism Task Force, said Moschella. The feds charged Batista this year with conspiring to sell drugs and tipping off dealers. The investigation also uncovered two IAB sergeants - Henry Conde and William Valerio - who have been charged with obstructing the probe. Although Kelly has profited from being an informant, he didn't get the goods on Batista.  jmarzulli@nydailynews.com