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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Husband Claims FBI Agent Seduced Wife During Investigation

Spurned husband Yanko Belliard claims FBI agent seduced his wife during a federal investigation
The New York Daily News by Simone Weichselbaum and Alison Gendar - January 30, 2011

A jilted husband claims a randy FBI agent seduced his wife during a federal fraud investigation - then tried to put the kibosh on charges against her in a state probe. Law enforcement sources confirmed the Justice Department is investigating Special Agent Adrian Busby - who denies he did anything wrong. But Yanko Belliard said his partner of 13 years, Yanet Salazar, had a torrid affair with Busby after she came forward with information about bogus Queens mortgages. Salazar spent hours talking with Busby, slept at his Far Rockaway apartment and even went on a vacation with the agent, his young sons and Belliard's own three young daughters, Belliard claims. "Before this happened, I thought we had a good life, a house, a solid family. No secrets. He comes and it's all ruined," said Belliard, 39, a computer program specialist. Belliard told his tale of betrayal to an investigator with the Justice Department nearly a year ago and said he has not heard the outcome. His ex - they were married in a church ceremony but never got a license - was convicted on state identity theft charges in 2009 and will be sentenced on April1.

A Justice Department lawyer and an FBI spokesman declined comment. Reached by cell phone, Busby, 37, did not want to talk specifics. "Was she a suspect in my case? She wasn't a suspect in my case," he said of Salazar. "Was she a confidential informant? That's something that the FBI would have to give out." He said the feds have been investigating the allegations since 2009. "If they did not find anything, then apparently my actions were appropriate," he said. Belliard said he gave investigators what he considered proof of an affair: his wife's cell phone bills; a photo of her running a red light near Busby's apartment, and a phone-tracking service that put her outside Busby's apartment. He also gave them an airline luggage tag with Busby's name on it, saying it was mistakenly switched from Salazar's luggage during a vacation. "I finally call Busby, and say, 'What are you doing? You have no right to sleep with my wife,'" Belliard said. "He said, 'What proof do you have?'" Busby's ex, Virginia, told the Daily News she was interviewed last year as part of the misconduct investigation but does not believe Busby would do anything improper. "As much as Adrian and I went through, he's a good man. He's a good father," she said, adding their eight-year relationship ended before the allegations. Belliard said the problem began in 2007 when Salazar, a real estate loan officer, learned the feds were looking into corrupt real-estate dealings in Queens. She got a lawyer, called the FBI, confessed she was involved and offered to turn snitch, Belliard said. Belliard and Salazar met Busby at their home and later at a Manhattan restaurant, and she agreed to help them set up a sting operation.

While the FBI probe marched on, the Queens district attorney was also looking into fraud and charged Salazar with felony identity theft in February 2008. Queens prosecutors said she and Realtor Elba Garcia stole the identity of a woman named Aurora Solano and used it to get a bogus mortgage. That's when, according to Belliard, Busby tried to intervene on behalf of Salazar, who had become his "confidential informant" in the federal probe. "Yanet told me that Aurora moved to New Jersey. Busby went there and tried to get a deal with Aurora to drop the charges against Salazar," Belliard said. "She told me Busby was trying to get to Aurora to make the case against Yanet go away." Solano and Garcia refused repeated requests for comment. Salazar's lawyer in the state case, Ronald Nir, said he knew Busby was spending an unusual amount of time with her but "did not see anything untoward." Busby said he did nothing wrong in regard to Solano, and said Belliard's own past discredits his allegation. "An abusive husband told you this. There are tons of females that he has threatened. How credible is he?" he said. Belliard was convicted of disorderly conduct in a 1995 assault case. He also admitted he snapped at his daughter's birthday party in 2009, angrily confronted Salazar and hit her, court records show. He was arrested and barred from coming near Salazar. She was arrested four months later for hitting Belliard, but the charge will be dismissed if she keeps out of trouble. "Sometimes I feel sorry for Busby," Belliard said. "It's the hunter that got hunted. In another way, Yanet used him." agendar@nydailynews.com

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Former Trooper Sentenced to 30 Years

Former Texas trooper sentenced to 30 years in Arkansas
The Associated Press - January 26, 2011

TEXARKANA, AK — A former Texas state trooper has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in Arkansas after being convicted of a variety of crimes — including molesting a 14-year-old girl. Forty-five-year-old Travis Eugene McRae was sentenced Monday in Miller County Circuit Court in Texarkana, Ark. McRae was arrested in May after police found his identification inside a home where the girl said she was awakened from sleep by a man who disrobed and molested her. Police later found McRae hiding in a pond in Clark County. He was convicted of sexual indecency with a child, residential burglary and theft of property. The Texas Department of Public Safety has said McRae was a trooper in Bowie County for four years before resigning in 1990. He was convicted in 1991 in Texas of sexual indecency with a 13-year-old girl.

Innocent Man Left With Catastrophic Brain Damage by Cops

The moment innocent man was left with catastrophic brain damage after being tackled by sheriff's deputy
The Daily Mail Reporter - January 20, 2011

Cocooned in tubes and blankets, he has spent the last 20 months lying helpless in a hospital bed. Christopher Harris, 31, suffered catastrophic brain damage when he was violently tackled by a sheriff's deputy outside a cinema in Seattle. Astonishingly, the moment he was knocked unconscious when he was slammed head-first against a wall was caught on a surveillance camera. His family, including his wife, are now taking the case to court alleging King County Deputies Matthew Paul and Joseph Eshom used excessive force. They are expected to claim at least $25 million in damages. Mr Harris had been walking through the Belltown district on May 10, 2009, when the incident happened. The two officers had been called out to a disturbance in a convenience car and had headed down an alley believing the culprits had gone that way. Instead, they stumbled across Mr Harris who was an innocent passerby. They asked him to stop but instead he ran away. One of the deputies, Matthew Paul, tackled him outside the Cinerama cinema, and he collapsed on the floor. He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. He is unable to walk, talk or care for himself and needs 24 hours care. His lawyer Simeon Osborn said he would have choked on his own blood but for the intervention of a passerby. 'Christopher Harris has irreversible brain damage, and will never recover,' he said. 'He will never walk or talk with his wife and family, or engage in any activities or experiences of daily life.' He told the Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Arend that Mr Harris had been attempting to surrender when he was tackled by the deputy, who was clad in black fatigues. 'Mr Harris stopped running, put his hands out in front of him and said, "I don't have anything, I didn't steal anything,"' he said. King County has claimed that Mr Harris was responsible for his own injuries because he ran away. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kristofer Bundy said that his decision to run away was 'extremely foolish and negligent. 'If he had not ran, the officers would have been able to speak with him and quickly determine that he was not the violent felon that they thought he was,' Bundy told the court. 'Therefore, Mr Harris would not have been injured if he had not run.' The case is due to go before a jury on Tuesday and is expected to last several weeks.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Corruption Lawsuit Gets Boot Due To Lack of Service

The case is one of several in the aftermath of a federal police corruption probe
Scripps TV - January 24, 2011

TULSA, OK - A lawsuit filed against the City of Tulsa in connection to a police corruption scandal has been dismissed. On Monday, Judge Carlos Chappelle dismissed a lawsuit filed in April 2010 by Larry Barnes and his wife, Linda Sue Barnes. Defense attorney Clark Brewster made the request, because the defendants had not been served since the filing. Defendants named are the City of Tulsa, former police chief Ron Palmer, officer Jeff Henderson and former ATF agent Brandon McFadden. Barnes claims his civil rights were violated when Henderson and McFadden conspired to present false testimony at his felony drug trial in 2008. He was convicted and spent 16 months in a federal prison. More lawsuits are pending against the City in the aftermath of a federal police corruption probe in which several Tulsa officers have been indicted. Those officers, including Jeff Henderson, are accused of planting evidence, intimidating witnesses and stealing drug money. McFadden has since pleaded guilty. Henderson is awaiting trial.

Chicago Cop Stands Trial For Beating Motorist

James Mandarino, Suburban Chicago Police Officer, Stands Trial For Beating Motorist
The Huffington Post - January 24, 2011

A police officer from the Chicago suburbs stands trial Monday for a ruthless beating captured on his own squad car's dashboard video camera. James Mandarino, a Streamwood police officer, is charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct for the beating of 28-year-old Ronald Bell. Bell and a friend, Nolan Stalbaum, were driving home from an Ultimate Fighting Championship match last April, according to the Chicago Tribune. They were stopped by Mandarino, who followed them a few blocks to Bell's driveway. Bell pulled up to his house, and Stalbaum got out of the car. But Mandarino emerged from his patrol car, firearm drawn, and Bell got back into the driver's seat. The officer then used his stun-gun on Stalbaum, who was already out of the car, making him collapse in a heap on the stairs. For a few minutes, Mandarino speaks to Bell -- the video has no sound, but Bell appears docile and compliant. Then, with Bell on his knees, hands behind his head, Mandarino starts relentless beating Bell with his metal baton, hitting him 15 times before he collapses to the pavement. All this is captured on the video camera in Mandarino's squad car. Still, according to NBC Chicago, the officer's union lawyer claims he is denying any wrongdoing. Bell and Stalbaum have also filed a federal lawsuit against Mandarino.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Ex-Deputy Sentenced on Corruption, Drug Charges

Ex-Deputy Sentenced on Corruption, Drug Charges
NBC 11 Atlanta by Michael King - January 24, 2011

ATLANTA, GA -- A former Fulton County Sheriff's Deputy was sentenced on Monday to six years in federal prison on corruption and drug charges. According to prosecutors, Anthony Atwater of Atlanta, at two different times, provided protection for what he believed to be large cocaine deals. For each instance, the 33-year-old agreed to protect those he thought were drug dealers in exchange for $2,000. He was in uniform, in a marked police vehicle and on duty when he provided the protection. "While dressed in his uniform, this former law enforcement officer sold out his badge to people he knew as drug dealers, and chose to protect them rather than the citizens," US Attorney Sally Yates said in a statement released late Monday. "Any sworn officer who thinks they can abandon their oath and become a criminal in police clothing should know this: Your betrayal makes you a criminal ready for federal prison." At Monday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors said FBI agents initially investigated Atwater after getting word that he had illegally searched a Fulton County home while driving a marked car and wearing a Sheriff's Department uniform. According to authorities, Atwater told the resident of the home that he had a warrant to search the home, but refused to show a copy of the warrant and entered to search the home. Atwater was sentenced to six years in prison, to be followed by four years of probation. He was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Cop Mistakenly Shoots Suspect's Father

NYPD officer mistakenly shoots drug suspect's dad
The Wall Street Journal/Associated Press - January 22, 2011

NEW YORK — A drug raid in the Bronx went awry Saturday when a police officer accidentally fired his gun and wounded the suspect's elderly father, authorities said. The shooting involved an officer whose own policeman father was killed in the line of duty nearly three decades ago. New York police officials said the shooting happened at around 7 a.m. as a tactical squad entered an apartment to arrest a man on a narcotics charge. As the raid unfolded, one of the arresting officers, Andrew McCormack, inadvertently discharged his weapon, striking the suspect's 76-year-old father in the stomach, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation. The man wounded in Saturday's raid was hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said. He is expected to survive. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly visited the victim at Jacobi Medical Center on Saturday afternoon, police said. The commissioner also met with members of his family. The department said McCormack's duty status remained unchanged Saturday afternoon. The circumstances of the shooting were being investigated. McCormack's father, Joseph McCormack, was killed in 1983. Bad luck played a role in the death. According to newspaper accounts, a mentally disturbed man who had barricaded himself in a Bronx home fired a shotgun blast that ricocheted off a tree and hit McCormack as he took cover in a neighboring yard. The shooter then was killed by officers returning fire. Andrew McCormack was a child at the time, but he followed in his father's footsteps and graduated from the police academy in 1999. After his father was killed, his mother, Susan McCormack, co-founded Survivors of the Shield, a support group for the families of slain police officers. The drug suspect, Alberto Colon, 41, was in custody Saturday and wasn't available for comment. Heroin was found in the apartment, the police department said, but charges hadn't been formalized. Colon's father wasn't alleged to have done anything wrong or to have had any knowledge of his son's crimes, police said.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Federal Judge Stands Firm in Lying Cop's Torture Trial

Federal judge won't step down from Burge case
WLS-TV Chicago - January 12, 2011

January 12, 2011 (CHICAGO) -- A federal judge said Wednesday that she won't step aside before sentencing a former Chicago police lieutenant convicted of lying about the torture of suspects, rejecting arguments that she appeared to have a conflict of interest. Attorneys for Jon Burge said they were concerned that the lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weisman, also was a prosecutor in a 2004 case in which a white supremacist was convicted of trying to hire someone to kill U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. They said they did not know about the connection before trial and that it was discovered by a friend of Burge's after his conviction. But Lefkow said prosecutors in the case involving the supremacist, Matthew Hale, represented the government, not her, and that she had no say in his prosecution. She testified briefly as a witness at his trial, but was not questioned by Weisman. She also said that Burge's attorneys filed their motion too late. "Obviously this is very distressing to think the recusal issue came up a few weeks before sentencing," Lefko said. Burge, convicted in June of perjury and obstruction of justice, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 20. He faces a maximum of 45 years in prison. For decades, dozens of suspects -- almost all of them black men -- claimed Burge and his officers had tortured them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder by suffocating, shocking and beating confessions out of them. Burge was fired from the police department in 1993 over the alleged mistreatment of a suspect but he was not was criminally charged before the statute of limitations ran out. He was charged in 2008 with lying about the alleged torture in a lawsuit filed by a former death row inmate. Lefkow said she respected Burge's right to bring a recusal motion, but said it could have been brought up before the trial because nobody was hiding the information. Hale was convicted of trying to hire his security chief, who was working as an FBI informant, to kill Lefkow. Prosecutors said he was angry that the judge had ordered his group to stop using the name World Church of the Creator because the words were trademarked by an Oregon-based religious group. The judge never was attacked. But on Feb. 28, 2005, Lefkow's husband and mother were found shot to death in the basement of the Lefkows' home. An unemployed electrician who killed himself several days later during a traffic stop in a Milwaukee suburb confessed to the crime in a suicide note.

Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force

NYPD Confidential: Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force by Leonard Levitt
Available on Itunes !!

From Iceberg Reader:
NYPD Confidential: Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force
by Leonard Levitt - St. Martin's Press - July 21, 2009

For years, the police commissioner and the mayor of New York City have duked it out for publicity, credit, and power. Some have translated their stardom into success after leaving office, while others have been hung out to dry. In the battle for control of the countrys most powerful police force, these high-status government officials have often chosen political expediency over public honesty. The result is a legacy of systemic corruption and cover-ups that is nothing less than shocking. Respected journalist Leonard Levitt has covered the NYPD for New York Newsday, and the New York Post among other papers. His columns have made him persona non grata in police headquarters. In NYPD Confidential, he reveals everything hes discovered throughout his decades-long career. With amazing details of backroom deals and larger-than-life powerbrokers, Levitt lays bare the backstabbing, power-grabs, and chaotic internal investigations that have run the NYPDs reputation into the ground in the pastand the forces conspiring to do so once again.

About Iceberg
The Iceberg Reader revolutionizes the reading experience, making it easier than ever to browse, buy and enjoy books.

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Cops Ticket Trespassing Outside Citizen's Own Hone

Tenants slapped with trespassing tickets by NYPD, but they were just going inside their own home
The New York Daily News by Rocco Parascandola - September 23, 2010

A Brooklyn man standing in front of his apartment was hit with a trespassing ticket, even after cops watched him use his key to get inside. Lindsey Riddick, still fuming over the bizarre Aug. 18 incident, said he showed police his identification. And when he opened the door to the Flatbush home, his girlfriend and two daughters greeted him and then ran outside the apartment. "I told the officer, 'I live here and I have the key,'" recalled Riddick, 36, whose brother, Michael Riddick, also got a summons for trespassing. "You're giving me a summons? Come on, man. You got to be kidding me." The brothers' claims have been added to a class action federal suit initially filed in May that accuses city cops of doling out illegal summonses to meet quotas. "This is another example of police trespassing on people's constitutional rights just to fill a quota," said the brothers' lawyer, Jon Norinsberg. "There's something terribly wrong with how the NYPD operates and it has to be fixed." Police officials didn't respond to repeated requests for comment about the Brooklyn incident or the suit. Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne denied the NYPD has quotas, calling the suggestion "absurd."

"Fortunately, most police officers do their jobs well, and in no case is anyone demanding police officers take action on nonexistent conditions," Browne said. Michael Riddick, 33, an exterminator, made an audio recording of part of the August confrontation. An officer told the brothers they had to go inside the home. "You don't own the street," said the one of the cops, identified by the brothers and a source as rookie Officer Marvin Esson. "You don't live in the street." The Riddick brothers both have drug convictions, but said they were minding their business when approached by police that night. The class action suit has 22 plaintiffs alleging bogus summonses across the city. In 19 of the cases, the summonses were dismissed. The cases against the Riddick brothers are pending. The disposition in one case wasn't clear late yesterday. Norinsberg, who represents the brothers, was also retained by Officer Adrian Schoolcraft. Assigned to the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Schoolcraft filed a $50 million suit accusing the NYPD of forcing him into a mental institution after he claimed supervisors were fudging crime stats. The class action suit references Schoolcraft and Officer Adhyl Polanco, who made similar accusations against the supervisors in the 41st Precinct in the Bronx. Deputy Inspector Donald McHugh, the commanding officer of the 41st Precinct, was transferred last week. Sources said he was transferred over Polanco's accusations. rparascandola@nydailynews.com

Officer Sentenced After Civil Rights Conspiracy Plea

Department of Justice
Press Release
For Immediate Release
March 5, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Michigan
Contact: (616) 456-2404

Former Benton Harbor Police Officer Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights

GRAND RAPIDS, MI— Bernard Hall, Jr., age 33, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the City of Benton Harbor, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. On September 9, 2009, Hall pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inhabitants of the City of Benton Harbor. At the time of the offenses alleged in the Indictment, Bernard Hall, Jr. was a sworn police officer of the Benton Harbor Police Department (BHPD), serving as the ranking police officer and supervisor of the Narcotics Unit. As head of the Narcotics Unit, Hall was responsible for the supervision of other police officers assigned to the unit—including former BHPD police officer Andrew Thomas Collins. Collins is currently serving a 37-month federal prison sentence for his related felony drug conviction on January 26, 2009. Hall, a seasoned veteran of the BHPD, totally failed in his responsibility and duty to supervise Collins, an officer with less than three years of experience. For almost two years between 2006 and 2008, these two individuals cut corners, falsified police reports, committed perjury, falsified affidavits in support of search warrants, embezzled funds from the Benton Harbor Police Department, stole money and property from citizens, and acted as a law unto themselves.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff, who presided over the sentencing of Hall, stated that a police officer who violates his solemn oath and breaks the law must face serious consequences for his actions, his conduct is akin to shredding the constitution and cannot be tolerated. Judge Neff sentenced Hall to the maximum sentence called for by the United States Sentencing Guidelines 30 months in prison, with three years of supervision, and to make restitution in the amount of $10,000. Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter and Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange provided statements to the court at the time of sentencing indicating that Defendant Hall’s criminal conduct has caused immeasurable damage to the community of Benton Harbor, as well as to the victims of his pervasive pattern of corrupt conduct. They also stated that law enforcement in general, and the BHPD specifically, has lost a significant amount of respect, trust and confidence from the community they are sworn to protect as a result of Hall’s conduct. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and its law enforcement partners consider allegations of public corruption to be of the highest importance and priority. U.S. Attorney Davis stated: “The respect and confidence the citizens place in their governmental institutions is dependant upon the honest and faithful services of the governmental employee. This office will aggressively pursue and prosecute governmental employees who violate their solemn oath and duties.” U.S. Attorney Davis also assured that his office will work diligently with its law enforcement partners to seek out and remedy any wrongful convictions resulting from Hall’s alleged criminal conduct.” The investigation of this matter was conducted by the St. Joseph Office of the FBI with the cooperation of the Michigan State Police, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office, and the BHPD. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney.


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Cops Should Have Laid Low in Fatal Shooting, Says PD Lawyer

Cops should have laid low in 2008 fatal shooting, NYPD lawyer says
The New York Daily News by John Marzulli - January 12, 2011

Two cops facing discipline in the fatal shooting of a crazed man swinging a metal chair should have hid behind the bushes for protection instead of firing, an NYPD lawyer says. Officers Dawn Ortiz and India Archie were cleared of wrongdoing in 2008 by a police firearms review board soon after the shooting. The NYPD's Holy Name Society, a police fraternal group, honored them for their "valor above and beyond the call of duty" at a ceremony attended by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Although the firearms panel recommended some retraining, some higherups wanted to slap the pair with a "command discipline" - which carries the loss of several days of pay. The cops refused the discipline, saying they did nothing wrong, triggering more serious charges and a departmental trial.

Rita Bieniewicz, a prosecutor in the legal bureau, laid out the tougher disciplinary case against the cops in detail last week in an internal document. Ortiz told investigators she had backed up as far as she could due to a row of shrubs behind her in a Coney Island parking lot on Nov. 13, 2008, when she fired one shot at rampaging Gilbert Blanco, 45. Bieniewicz contended the cop had better options. "The bushes that lined the boundary line of the parking lot where both [cops] were standing allowed for clear passage," Bieniewicz wrote. "They did not comprise a dense, impenetrable hedgerow, but are two to three separate, relatively small bushes." The NYPD lawyer argued that the cops' failure to use pepper spray and retreat further back - or laterally - put them closer than they should have been. Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch denounced the second-guessing. "It is easy when you have the luxury of unlimited time in complete safety to ponder an officer's actions over a cup of coffee," he said. "The officer had every right to protect herself in the face of deadly physical force," Lynch said. "We believe the department made a serious mistake in bringing charges in this case." Archie's lawyer, Eric Sanders, said the public does not want cops to run from threats like cowards. "There's no obligation to retreat, and if that's what the department wants, there will be anarchy in the street," he said. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne defended the handling of the case. "The [firearms discharge] review process is an important one and what you see at work here. It is the right of police officers to ask for a trial on the issues." jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Four Men Sue PD After Arrest for Laughing

Four Queens men sue NYPD after being held for 30 hours, busted for laughing at cops
The New York Daily News by John Marzulli - December 13, 2010

Four Queens men claim they were locked up for more than 30 hours by cops seeking revenge on a crowd of men who laughed at an officer who couldn't catch a fleeing drug suspect. The men insist they didn't even laugh, says their lawyer Gabriel Harvis, who filed suit against the NYPD and 10 unidentified officers in Brooklyn Federal Court. They believe they were arrested because cops wanted to take their frustration out on them, he said. "The cops knew my clients had done nothing wrong, but they didn't care," said Harvis, who represents Abdul Kabba, Isaiah Barnes, Hasan Allen and Ishmial Deas. Police "were embarrassed, so they abused their power by locking them up anyway."

The four were held for 27 hours in the 103rd Precinct stationhouse before the Queens district attorney's office dropped the charges. The suit claims the men were held four hours longer while the officers claimed they were completing paperwork. Law enforcement sources say the average detention time for arrestees in Queens is about 18 to 19 hours. The incident started about 4p.m. on Aug. 19, when cops approached a group blocking an entrance to Rufus King Park in Jamaica and saw someone throw a bag in a garbage can, a police source said. They began searching members of the group, including the plaintiffs. An unidentified man told officers he had smoked all the marijuana and took off running with a cop in pursuit, according to the suit. When the cop returned, huffing and puffing from the chase, some spectators at a handball game in the park laughed. "'If you think that's funny, watch what I do to them,'" one cop said, the suit alleges. That's when cops moved in on Harvis' clients. The four were initially charged with possession of marijuana found in the bag in the garbage can. A police source familiar with the incident said the men were lawfully arrested for pot possession and tampering with evidence, but that the DA chose not to proceed. The bag recovered at the scene contained 31 glassine envelopes of marijuana, the police source said. "Does that sound like someone smoked all the marijuana?" The NYPD had no official comment. With Alison Gendar - jmarzulli@nydailynews.com



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Former CIA Officer Charged In Leak Of Government Secrets

Former CIA officer Jeffrey A. Sterling charged in leak probe
The Washington Post by Greg Miller - January 6, 2011

A former CIA officer involved in spying efforts against Iran was arrested Thursday on charges of leaking classified information to a reporter, continuing the Obama administration's unprecedented crackdown on the flow of government secrets to the media. Jeffrey A. Sterling, 43, of O'Fallon, Mo., was charged with 10 felony counts, including obstruction of justice and unauthorized disclosure of national defense information. A federal indictment made public Thursday in the Eastern District of Virginia accuses Sterling of leaking secrets after he was fired from the CIA and the agency refused to settle a racial discrimination claim he made. The intensified campaign against leaks comes as the U.S. government is confronting a potent new threat to its ability to keep secrets from public view. Over the past year, the WikiLeaks Web site has posted and shared with multiple media organizations thousands of classified U.S. military records and State Department cables. The indictment, returned under seal last month, does not identify the alleged recipient of the classified information. But former U.S. intelligence officials and lawyers familiar with the case said the journalist is New York Times reporter James Risen. The officials said Sterling has long been suspected within the agency of providing Risen with extensive information about CIA efforts to sabotage Iran's nuclear program, material that is believed to have formed the basis for a prominent chapter in Risen's 2006 book, "State of War." Edward B. MacMahon Jr., Sterling's attorney, denied the allegations, saying: "He has always maintained his innocence throughout the course of this entire investigation. We'll seek to prove that in court." Risen's attorney, David N. Kelley, said he had not reviewed the indictment but stressed that his client "did not testify, did not provide any information and did not cooperate with the government." The indictment is the latest in a series of cases the Justice Department has brought against alleged leakers of government secrets since President Obama took office. Steven Aftergood, an expert on government classification issues at the Federation of American Scientists, said the five leaks cases brought so far during the Obama administration exceed the total for all previous administrations. He said the intense focus has "cast a chill on relations between national security officials and members of the public."

Other cases brought during the Obama administration include the indictment in April last year of Thomas A. Drake, a former executive at the National Security Agency accused of leaking information to the Baltimore Sun; as well as a State Department contractor indicted in August on charges of leaking information to Fox News. The latest indictment includes details about dozens of phone calls and e-mails exchanged between Sterling and a journalist identified in the document only as Author A, beginning in 2002. Sterling was the subject of a lengthy New York Times article by Risen in March of that year that reported Sterling's assertion that his career had been repeatedly derailed by racial discrimination within the CIA. Sterling was described in the piece as the "sole black officer" assigned to the Iran Task Force in January 1995. He handled Iranian sources, was subsequently trained in Farsi nd was sent to a station in Germany to recruit Iranian spies. Sterling asserts in the article that he was undermined in that job and that he was passed over for others by senior CIA officials who considered him a liability because of his skin color. At one point, he said, a supervisor told him that he couldn't function as a spy because "you kind of stick out as a big black guy." Sterling, a lawyer who also sparred with senior CIA officials over his plans to publish a memoir, filed a complaint with the CIA's anti-discrimination office in 2000 and subsequently sued the agency. According to the indictment, about two weeks after the CIA rejected a third settlement offer from Sterling, he "placed an interstate telephone call" from his home in Herndon to the Maryland residence of Author A. In subsequent calls and e-mails, the Justice Department alleges, Sterling shared details of sensitive CIA operations against Iran. Among them was a classified effort code-named Merlin that was designed to degrade Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program by sabotaging materials and blueprints being acquired by Iran. The indictment indicates that Risen planned to write about the program, which Sterling portrayed as deeply flawed. The New York Times did not publish a story, but details about the Merlin operation appeared in Risen's book. One chapter describes a CIA plan to employ a Russian agent to offer Iran nuclear weapons blueprints that contained fatal flaws. But because the flaws were obvious and possible to overcome, the plan risked providing useful information that could "help Iran leapfrog one of the last remaining engineering hurdles blocking its path to a nuclear weapon," according to the book. The indictment says that a description of the plan also appeared in drafts of a memoir that Sterling submitted to CIA reviewers. CIA spokesman George Little declined to comment on the case, except to say that the agency "deplores the unauthorized disclosure of classified information." Federal authorities pressured Risen at least twice to testify before a grand jury investigating the case. Kelley, Risen's attorney, said that the reporter declined to comply and that he does not expect Risen to be called as a witness if there is a trial. According to the indictment, Sterling was aware by 2003 that the FBI was investigating him for alleged illegal disclosure of classified information. In 2004, he filed for bankruptcy protection, listing debts of $150,000. Sterling was arrested Thursday in St. Louis. U.S. officials said he will remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Monday. He faces six charges of unauthorized disclosure and retention of national defense information, each carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Potential penalties on the remaining four charges include a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000. Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Former Sheriff's Deputy Arrested For Rape

Former Lewis County Sheriff's deputy arrested for rape charge
THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF - December 31, 2010

MONTICELLO, Mo. -- A former Lewis County sheriff's deputy was arrested Wednesday on a felony rape charge allegedly involving a 15-year-old girl. LaBelle resident John R. Benn, 26, was arrested in Shelby County and posted a $20,000 bond after his initial court appearance. His next court date is Jan. 3. The case is being investigated by the Missouri Attorney General's office. Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish said the alleged crime, consensual sexual intercourse, took place in Benn's LaBelle residence in July 2009. "Based on the seriousness of the allegations involved, and out of fairness to both the victim and alleged suspect, the matter was turned over to an outside agency in the hopes that all parties would feel a fair investigation was completed," Parrish said in a press release. Benn was a deputy for two years and resigned in July 2009. Parrish said he could not comment about the case because it involved personnel matters. After an initial investigation by Parrish's office, the matter was turned over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, then referred to the Attorney General's office.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Diabetic Says Cops Tasered And Beat Him

Diabetic Says Cops Tasered & Beat Him
CourtHouseNews.com by KEVIN KOENINGER - December 22, 2010

CINCINNATI, OHIO - A diabetic suffering "a medical emergency caused by dangerously low sugar levels" was pulled over by Hamilton County Sheriff's officers, Tasered repeatedly, "violently dragged from the vehicle, thrown on the ground, kicked in the head by a boot, and stomped mercilessly while lying on his back," the man claims in Federal Court. Plaintiff John Harmon, who is black, says he was driving through a white area at the time. Harmon and his wife sued the county, the sheriff and his department, four patrol officers and a sergeant for the beating he got in October 2009. Sheriff's officers pulled him over after seeing his vehicle weaving, according to the complaint. Defendant Patrol Officer Ryan Wolf then "approached Harmon's vehicle with his gun drawn along with a second patrol officer, Matthew Wissel," the complaint states. "Without giving Harmon an opportunity to comply with any order, if, in fact, any order was given, Wolf shattered the driver's side window of Harmon's vehicle, spraying Harmon's face and body with broken glass. As this was occurring, a third patrol officer, defendant [John] Haynes, arrived at the scene. "Almost immediately, Harmon was Tased by defendant Wissel. The officers attempted to remove Harmon from his vehicle by violently pulling on his neck. Harmon was then Tased again. They were unable to remove Harmon because Harmon was caught in his seatbelt. Defendant Wissel cut Harmon's seatbelt in order to remove him from the vehicle. "Harmon was then violently dragged from the vehicle, thrown on the ground, kicked in the head by a boot, and stomped mercilessly while lying on his back. In the process, Harmon suffered numerous injuries, including a severely dislocated elbow and trauma to his shoulder and thumb. During the course of these events, which lasted approximately two minutes and twenty seconds, he was Tased seven times." Three more officers arrived during the beating, and one of them "located a diabetic kit on the floorboard of Harmon's vehicle. At one point, Harmon was asked by the officers if he is diabetic, to which Harmon responded, 'Yes.' Paramedics were called to the scene, and it was confirmed that Harmon's blood sugar level was extremely low." Harmon was taken to a hospital, where Patrol Officer Shawn Cox refused to let him use the bathroom. This "eventually resulted in Harmon being deeply humiliated and embarrassed when he urinated on himself," according to the complaint. Harmon was charged with "(1) failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer; (2) resisting arrest; (3) operating his vehicle with only one headlight; and (4) failure to drive in a marked lane." All charges were dropped 2 weeks later. The complaint states: "The actions taken by the defendants against Harmon ... were due to the fact that Harmon was a large African-American male driving a sport utility vehicle at a late hour through a primarily white area of Hamilton County," Anderson Township. Officers Wolf, Wissel, Cox and Haynes are named as defendants, along with Hamilton County, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr., and Sgt. Barbara Stuckey. Harmon and his wife seek punitive damages for excessive force and other civil rights violations, malicious prosecution, false arrest, constitutional violations, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They are represented by Timothy Burke with Manley Burke.

FBI Opens Probe Into Death Following Man's Arrest

FBI opens probe into man's death

The McAlester News-Capital by James Beaty - December 30, 2010

McALESTER, OK — The FBI has opened a probe in the death of a Eufaula man who died in a Tulsa hospital two days following his arrest by Quinton police and incarceration in the Pittsburg County Jail, the News-Capital has learned. Ricky Lanham, 31, died in Tulsa on Dec. 23, according to records. After Lanham died, the state Medical Examiner’s office conducted an autopsy. “The cause of death is blunt trauma to the head,” said Cherokee Ballard, spokesperson for the state Medical Examiner’s Office. A determination on the manner of death is pending, Ballard said on Wednesday afternoon. Lanham had been booked into the Pittsburg County Jail at 3:41 p.m. on Dec. 21 on initial complaints of public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer. Pittsburg County Sheriff Joel Kerns said his officers became involved in the case after Quinton police asked for assistance. Kerns confirmed that the FBI had been to the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday in connection with an inquiry into Lanham’s death. “They have been here,” Kerns told the News-Capital. “We welcome the investigation,” said Kerns. Lanham had been arrested by Quinton police on Dec. 21 for public intoxication at Fourth and Broadway in Quinton, according to records. Quinton Police Chief John Barbee was transporting Lanham to the jail when he radioed and sought assistance, Kerns said. The sheriff said his officers met Barbee at Buffalo Mountain Road, east of McAlester. After the Pittsburg County and Quinton police officers met, Lanham was taken from the Quinton police vehicle and placed in a Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, the sheriff said. He was transported to the McAlester Regional Health Center, Kerns said. Asked why Lanham had been transported to the hospital, Kerns said Lanham appeared to be intoxicated on drugs or alcohol. The sheriff said Lanham was kept at the hospital for several hours, then released to the Quinton police chief for transportation to the county jail. Following the 3:41 p.m. booking on Dec. 21, Lanham was kept in an observation cell at the jail, according to the sheriff. Sheriff’s personnel called an ambulance that night after Lanham was observed having difficulty breathing, the sheriff said. Lanham was transported back to the McAlester hospital after the ambulance was called on the night of Dec. 21 and then later was transferred to St. John’s in Tulsa, the sheriff said. Lanham was released on his own recognizance, known as a medical OR, according to the sheriff’s department. Following his transfer to the Tulsa hospital, Lanham died on Dec. 23, according to funeral records. The state Medical Examiner’s office got the call from St. John Medical Center at 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 23, Ballard said. She said late Wednesday afternoon it remained uncertain exactly when a manner of death regarding Lanham will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s office. Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Former Cop Confesses to NJ and PA Bank Robberies

Police: Former Bridgeton cop confesses to New Jersey, Pennsylvania bank robberies
The News of Cumberland County by Stephen Smith - January 8, 2011

A former Bridgeton police officer, who served prison time for official misconduct, has confessed to seven bank robberies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including two robberies of the same Millville bank, according to authorities in Pennsylvania. Carl Holliday, 33, confessed Thursday to eight robberies, including one at a drug store, police in White Haven, Pa., confirmed Friday afternoon. Two of the alleged robberies occurred at the TD Bank branch on Second Street in Millville. Holliday’s arrest followed a tip from a witness to one of the Pennsylvania robberies. Around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, a man who had been present at the Nov. 18 robbery of a PNC Bank in White Haven, noticed the same gold-colored Honda Accord parked outside of the same bank. The car did not have license plates. The witness called police, who pulled over the car for the plate violation. Holliday was identified as the driver. White Haven police took him into custody and met with FBI agents at the White Haven police station. “He was saying he knew we had him,” said Officer Gary Shupp of the White Haven Police Department. “It just took a little while for us to get it all out of him.” Shupp said that while talking to White Haven police and FBI agents, Holliday confessed to robbing six banks and a Rite Aid. In Pennsylvania, he said he had robbed banks in Allentown, Quakertown and White Haven, where he also robbed a Rite Aid drug store, according to police. He said he had robbed banks in New Jersey in Paulsboro, Harrison Township and Millville. Specific dates and locations of those robberies were not released Friday. The Millville TD Bank was robbed twice in less than 20 days last fall, on Oct. 15 and Nov. 4. At the time, authorities said they believed those robberies were committed by the same person. Shupp said that it was through extensive efforts by White Haven Officer Thomas Szoke, whose idea it was to institute a neighborhood watch program in White Haven, as well as the reporting resident, that the case was solved as fast as it was. “He was using his exact MO (modus operandi) as before. Luckily our citizens knew what to look for, and he was caught,” Shupp said. Special Agent J.J. Klaver, of the Philadelphia FBI office, confirmed Holliday had been taken into custody in White Haven. He said he was taken to the Federal Courthouse for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Scranton, and was arraigned Friday afternoon on one charge of bank robbery in relation to the robbery of the PNC Bank in White Haven. This is not Holliday’s first run-in with the law. He was formerly an officer with Millville, the Bridgeton Board of Education, and most recently the Bridgeton Police Department. Holliday’s tenure in Bridgeton came to an end following a November 2006 incident, in which he and Gregory Willis, who were on duty in an unmarked police vehicle, arrested Rigoverto Diaz. Holliday told the man in Spanish they were taking him home. While driving with Diaz, he and Willis pulled over a man for suspicion of drunken driving. The man was the brother of another police officer, and rather than arrest him, Holliday and Willis dropped him off at another bar. After dropping the man off, they continued with Diaz to Bridgeton City Park, where Holliday allegedly punched and kicked him, and stole his wallet, cell phone and hat. Diaz reported the incident to the Bridgeton police. Willis and Holliday eventually pleaded to second-degree official misconduct for not arresting the drunken man, though they never actually pleaded to anything involving their alleged robbing of Diaz. Willis was sentenced to three years in state prison and Holliday to three and a half, though both were released into an intensive supervision program after about only three months in the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown. The ISP included mandatory employment, curfews, drug tests and community service. Harvey Goldstein, director of New Jersey’s ISP, said Friday that Holliday graduated from the program in January 2010. He said once out of the ISP, the New Jersey Department of Corrections no longer has any interaction with the participants.

Judge Nixes Plea Deal For Killer Cop

Judge nixes plea deal for cop charged with killing gal pal after emotional plea from shooting victim
The New York Daily News by Joe Jackson - January 5, 2011

A Brooklyn judge quashed a plea deal Wednesday for a dirty cop charged with killing his girlfriend after her family and a survivor of the shooting begged him to show no mercy. Former cop Jerry Bowens was ordered to stand trial next week for the 2009 slaying of Catherine D'Onofrio after Judge Matthew D'Emic refused to accept an offer of 25-years-to-life. Bowens, 44, now faces 50-years-to-life in prison if convicted of murder. The possibility of a lesser term prompted D'Onofrio's mom, sister and the victim's pal, Melissa Simmons - who Bowens allegedly shot in the head - to write the judge. "The man is a killer and deserves to spend the maximum amount of time for the brutal crimes he committed," Simmons said in a poignant note that also laid bare her personal pain. "I now suffer from headaches and my sleeping patterns vary, depending on whether I have a recurring nightmare reliving that day when he barricaded the doors and taunted us with his gun - until he finally shot Catherine in her head and then turned the gun on me." She continued: "The only sense of safety I get is knowing that he is locked away in prison." "He took Catherine away from us forever," wrote D'Onofrio's mother, Jane. "The idea that he could be released from prison 25 years from now ... is devastating to me and my family." Bowens' lawyer, Wayne Bodden, argued it was inappropriate for the judge to consider the letters and that they should only be admissable during sentencing. D'Emic dismissed the argument, saying the letters had no bearing on his decision to proceed to trial. "My conscience is very clear that everyone in this courtroom is going to get a fair trial," D'Emic said. Pretrial hearings in Brooklyn Supreme Court began immediately and detectives were called to testify - reading Bowens' written and verbal confessions from his arrest. Bowens, a former narcotics cop, is already serving a 1-to-3-year sentence on drug charges stemming from an NYPD corruption case in Brooklyn. Bowens had agreed to testify against fellow officers in the months before D'Onofrio's killing. But in March 2009, he gunned her down in the bathroom of Simmons' house and then turned the gun on Simmons. Days later, he surrendered to cops who found a "hit list" in Bowens' car naming several others he planned to kill. In his confession, Bowens claimed he had intended suicide but accidentally shot D'Onofrio while raising the gun to his head. Simmons was shot when she tried to push the gun away, Bowens claimed. "I loved Catherine more than I've loved any other woman. I never meant to hurt her," he wrote. "The gun went off. Then it was like I was in some kind of a trance. I kept shooting, how many times I don't know." He was initially deemed unfit to stand trial in Donofrio's killing, but was later re-examined and determined to be psychologically fit.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Cop Cleared of Corruption Charges

Brooklyn cop snared in narcotics probe, Jose Alvarez, is cleared of corruption charges
The New York Daily News by John Marzulli - January 8, 2011

Officer Julio Alvarez was cleared of corruption charges related to a narcotics sting after a bench trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

An NYPD cop was acquitted Friday of corruption charges stemming from a probe that led to a massive shakeup of the Brooklyn South Narcotics unit. Justice John Walsh announced the verdict against Officer Julio Alvarez after a bench trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The trial against his co-defendant, Detective Sean Johnstone, will be completed this month after a final witness is cross-examined. Alvarez and Johnstone were accused of participating in a conspiracy in which they falsely reported they had seized only 17 bags of cocaine from a drug bust. Johnstone was caught on his own hidden wire bragging that they had found 28 bags of coke. The two cops were charged with tampering with business records, filing false instruments and official misconduct. A sergeant, a detective and another cop were also arrested in the probe, which uncovered evidence of narcs taking cash, drugs and sex from junkies and drug dealers. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly replaced unit commanders, and prosecutors were forced to dismiss cases the cops made. The city has also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits filed by suspects who were arrested by members of the unit.

Police Officer Charged in Gas Station Drive-Off

Lansing police officer charged in gas station drive-off
The Lansing State Journal by Kevin Grasha - December 30, 2010

CHARLOTTE, MI - A Lansing police officer faces a misdemeanor charge after authorities say he intentionally drove off from a Potterville gas station without paying for gas and two bottles of wine. Jerry Blow, 43, is charged with false pretenses less than $200 in connection with an incident earlier this month at the Shell gas station and food mart on East Lansing Road, just off Interstate 69. Authorities say Blow went to the counter to pay for two bottles of wine and about $45 in gas. He allegedly told the clerk he had to go to his vehicle to get the money. He then drove off, authorities said. The incident happened at about 12:45 p.m. on Dec. 4, said Eaton County Undersheriff Fred McPhail. Blow was arraigned on the charge Dec. 17. There is no record of an arrest, and it appears Blow turned himself in at the arraignment, McPhail said. Blow faces up to 93 days in jail and/or $500 in fines, said Eaton County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Douglas Lloyd. A pretrial hearing is set for next month in Eaton County District Court. Blow is on paid administrative leave, according to Lansing Interim Police Chief Teresa Szymanski. KEVIN GRASHA • KGRASHA@LSJ.COM

Wide-Spread Sick Out Leaves City With Nearly Zero Police Protection

'I believe they were sick': Union chief defends East St. Louis cops who did not report to work
The News-Democrat by Carolyn P. Smith - January 3, 2011

The president of Fraternal Order of Police Union Lodge 126 says he believes the men who called in sick Friday were actually sick and not participating in a work stoppage as a letter hand delivered to most of the officers said. Nearly all of the scheduled police officers on the 3 to 11 p.m. shift called off sick one hour before they were scheduled to report to work. The officers called in sick the day after the City Council approved the layoffs of 16 police officers effective as of Saturday. Kendall Perry, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 126, said the men have been under a lot of stress with the mandatory furloughs and the threat of the layoffs hanging over their heads for a while. And, then he said the weather conditions have been changing, which could have caused some of the men to have flulike symptoms. "If they were sick, they were within their rights to call off. I believe they were sick," he said. Perry said the men have sick days and if they are sick they can call off without fear of retaliation from members of the police department. He said he doesn't believe the men were participating in a work stoppage. Councilwoman Emeka Jackson, Councilman Robert Eastern III, Councilman Delbert Marion and Mayor Alvin L. Parks voted to accept the city's budget that included laying off 16 police officers, one full- and one part-time telecommunicator, one jailer and four public works workers. Also, 13 firefighters, who are already laid off will not be brought back. The hand delivered letter from the higher-ups in the department gave the men one hour to report to work or face possible termination for participating in a work stoppage. Some of the officers said they believe they were being harassed while they were off sick. Perry said, "If the officers were sick, they cannot be made to go in to work." Police Chief Lenzie Stewart said that the letters were delivered. And, he said those who were at home as the policy requires and not engaging in some outside entertainment would be fine. But, those who violated the policy would have a problem. Lieutenants, captains and the police chief were out on the streets Friday. And, most of the first shift (11 p.m.-7 a.m.) consisted of officers who were part of the layoff. So, the higher-ranking officers had to work that shift and were already scheduled to do so, Stewart said. Contact reporter Carolyn P. Smith at 239-2503.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Two Top Cops Are Out Over Ride

Two top PA cops are out
The New York Post by Philip Messing - January 7, 2011

Scandal over kin's 'police cab ride'

Two top Port Authority cops are resigning three days after The Post reported that one of them arranged for an officer to chauffeur his college-age daughter from Kennedy Airport to New Jersey and the other falsely denied knowing about it, a source told The Post yesterday. Chief Robert Belfiore, the agency's top uniformed officer and the young woman's father, pulled the plug on his 30-year career Wednesday and was "cleaning out his desk" yesterday, the source said. Inspector Kenneth Honig, the top PAPD cop at JFK, agreed to accept a buyout equal to six months pay after "they made him an offer he wasn't allowed to refuse," according to an insider. Honig, 56, had gotten an unpleasant surprise yesterday when he was summoned to an interview that he believed could lead to a promotion to deputy chief. He was coldly informed he was being considered instead for administrative charges growing out of the free ride, the source said. The men's careers began to crash in flames in September when Belfiore made a fateful call to PA cops at JFK. According to the tipster who alerted the agency, he told the officer who answered, "My daughter was supposed to go into Newark Airport but her plane was diverted to JFK. Can you give her a ride to New Jersey?" Belfiore asked for Honig, who was not available. So another subordinate, Capt. Joseph Scarano, served as booking agent. Belfiore, 61, earned $157,558 in 2009 and isn't leaving empty-handed. He is expected to stay until later this month -- and then file for a pension worth at least $120,000 a year by claiming he suffered a line-of-duty injury, the source said. Belfiore was spotted recently wearing a neck brace -- which the source said figures in his anticipated pension claim. Honig, in his first interview with investigators, claimed he knew nothing about turning an on-duty cop into a taxi driver paid by the public. When Honig was invited down again, he changed his story after he was confronted with the statement of a colleague who said the inspector had indeed been briefed. Honig insisted he still didn't remember, but conceded if another officer said he was told, then "I probably was," according to people familiar with the probe. No one else involved, including Scarano or the officer who drove the young woman, is expected to face charges. Honig also made headlines recently after it was determined that he had approved a $30,000 payment to a subordinate, Sgt. John Farrell, who logged 277 hours of overtime during two weeks in September when the United Nations was in session. Asked about the generous payout, Honig allegedly said, "Yeah, I authorized it, but so what? The feds are paying for it."
philip.messing@nypost.com

Former Police Captain Faces Sentencing

Former police captain faces sentencing
WCPO by Bill Price - November 22, 2010

BATAVIA, Ohio - A former police captain convicted of stealing Oxycontin was sentenced Monday to two years probation and perform upwards of 250 hours of community service for tampering with evidence. Felicity police captain Delmas Pack, 42, pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month. Pack was caught stealing prescription drugs from a suspect during a sting operation by the Clermont County Sheriff's Department. Investigators say Pack confiscated 81 Oxycontin pills from an undercover officer. Those drugs were never turned in to the evidence department. Pack faced five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. However, both prosecution and defense attorneys agreed earlier this month that they would ask the judge to consider probation for the sentence, with Pack handing in his police license and promising never to work in law enforcement again. Pack's attorney has told the court that his client's main goal now is to look for new ways to support his family. Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Zuk also made holding down a full time job part of Pack's probation requirements.Pack had been with the Felicity Police Department for 16 years.

Four Police Officers Arrested in Corruption Case

Chief: Four KCK police officers arrested in corruption case
The Kansas City Star by DAWN BORMANN and JOE LAMBE - January 5, 2011

Four police officers in Kansas City, Kan., were arrested in an ongoing police corruption case, Police Chief Rick Armstrong said tonight. The members of the department’s swat team are now free on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation continues, he said in a press conference. He started the investigation last year after a citizen complaint and called in help from the FBI, the U.S. Attorney and the Wyandotte County prosecutor, he said. The officers were arrested and questioned Tuesday after a sting operation that followed their work on serving what they thought was a warrant. It is not unusual for the FBI to use video cameras and set up sting operations in such cases, experts said. The case is an anomaly that does not reflect the operation and values of his department, Armstrong said. “I think we’re all sick,” he said. “I think we’re embarrassed.” Wyandotte County’s Unified Government Mayor Joe Reardon said this afternoon that any allegations of police misconduct were troubling. “As mayor, I expect the utmost integrity and professionalism from our police officers. So do our citizens. Acts of misconduct should not and will not be tolerated,” Reardon said. Reardon said the police chief launched the investigation at the first sign of a problem. He stood behind the police chief and the investigation. “As mayor my expectation is that we continue to have a police department that is responsible to its citizens and fights crime with the utmost integrity,” he said. “We have achieved great results in fighting crime. The is best way to support our community and the hundreds of good police officers that serve each day is to aggressively pursue this investigation.”

Judge Sends Former Police Officer to Prison

Wis. judge sends former police officer to prison
The Chicago Tribune - December 30, 2010

MADISON, Wis. - A federal judge has sentenced a former Platteville police officer to prison for turning her home into a drug house. Twenty-nine-year-old Michelle Salentine pleaded guilty in October with maintaining a crack house. U.S. District Judge William H. Conley sentenced her to a year and a day in prison on Thursday. The case began in December 2009 when an informant told FBI agents Salentine smoked crack on duty. Agents arrested her in April and recovered several suspected marijuana bongs and crack pipes from her house. Salentine wrote a letter to Conley saying she relied on crack to cope with back injuries suffered while on duty, her older brother's death in July and her twin brother's drug addiction.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Cops Resign Over Gambling Investigation

Pelham PD officers resign
WALB by Christian Jennings - January 3, 2011

ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Pelham Two female Pelham Police officers resigned after a GBI investigation revealed they were involved in an illegal gambling operation. The District Attorney says he gave Captain Linda Coliman and Sergeant Mary Johnson a choice to resign or face possible indictment and prosecution. The women turned in their badges. It was the Pelham Police Department's Chief and Lead investigator who made the decision to contact the GBI when they were told two of their officers, a Captain and a Sergeant, were possibly working security on the side for an illegal gambling operation outside a Petro gas station in Pelham. The women aren't charged with a crime, but they are no longer certified to work as police officers in the state of Georgia. Former Pelham police officer Linda Coliman served as a Captain and DARE officer during her 29 years of service. Mary Johnson worked for Pelham PD for 24 years and was a sergeant on the roads. "After talking to the DA the officers made the choice to resign and surrender their post certification," said Pelham Police Inv. Rod Williams. This all came to light December 3rd when Pelham Police arrested four men for operating an illegal gambling operation made to look like a mobile carnival of sorts. It was set up outside the Petro gas station in town for several weeks. "During the investigation early on we received info that police officers had been going over there acting as security for the operation," said Williams. Pelham investigators called the GBI and their investigation uncovered evidence that Coliman and Johnson were working security for pay, knowing the operation was illegal. The women denied allegations, but resigned on the Wednesday before Christmas. "They needed security because people would get mad when they lost money and they needed to keep themselves from being harmed by the people who were conning," said Williams. The incident shocked the Chief and Lead Investigator who worked with the women throughout their careers. "It's tough to recover because I've known the officers for so long but we are making new assignments and seeking out new employees so we'll get through it," said Pelham Police Chief Nealie McCormick. Since the officers' resignation rumors have been flying throughout the small town about other officers in the department, but Pelham Police say those are just rumors. Pelham Police say this will leave their short-staffed department even more under-staffed. Police say that gambling operation traveled around the country ripping people off with their rigged gambling machines. The men arrested were from all over the country, one man as far away as Chicago.

Cop Accused of Stealing TV

Barre police officer denies stealing neighbor's TV
The Burlington Free Press by Matt Ryan - January 3, 2011

BARRE, VT — Prosecutors have charged an off-duty Barre police officer with stealing his neighbor’s TV from under her Christmas tree and, when confronted by law enforcement, tossing it into the Winooski River. Patrol Officer Zak Winston, 34, who works in Barre and lives in Montpelier, denied the accusation during his arraignment Monday in Vermont Superior Court in Barre. “Well, Your Honor, I can tell you I’m not guilty,” said Winston, who represented himself during the five-minute hearing. Barre City Police Chief Timothy Bombardier said Monday that Winston has been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation. Winston has worked for the department for about 2½ years, Bombardier said. He would not comment further on the charges Winston is facing. “From our end, it’s a personnel matter, and we don’t talk about personnel matters,” Bombardier said. One of Winston’s neighbors called Montpelier police at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday to report that a man had walked into her Elm Street apartment and stolen her new 42-inch LED flat-screen TV, which was still in the box, from under her Christmas tree, according to court papers. While on the phone with a dispatcher, Denise Matheson, 35, said she saw Winston exit his apartment in the same complex carrying the box for her TV, Montpelier police wrote in an affidavit.

Officer Matthew Knisley said he and Officer Kevin Moulton found a box for a TV matching Matheson’s description outside Winston’s apartment door, according to court papers. Knisley said he had seen Winston drinking beer at McGillicuddy’s Irish Pub earlier that morning while doing a bar check. When confronted by Montpelier police, Winston denied stealing the TV, and told the officers they needed a warrant to search his apartment, according to court papers. “I asked Winston to put himself in our shoes and asked him what he would do,” Knisley wrote in the affidavit. Winston then told the officers they could search his home after he checked on his baby, court papers said. While waiting outside, Moulton went behind the building and saw Winston attempt to throw a TV off the balcony of his apartment and into the river, according to court papers. “Really Zak, are you ... kidding me?” Moulton said to Winston, according to court papers. The Montpelier officers reconvened at the front of the building, where they said they heard something large hit the water. Moulton said he searched the river but could not find the TV. When asked why he threw the TV off the balcony, Winston said, “because I did not want stolen property in my house,” the affidavit said. Winston resisted the officers while they handcuffed him, and again while they forced him into the police vehicle, according to court papers. Police jailed Winston at the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury for lack of $5,000 bail. At 7:24 a.m. Monday, while at the prison, Winston had a blood alcohol content of 0.127 percent, the affidavit said. Prosecutors charged Winston with burglary, unlawful trespass, unlawful mischief and resisting arrest. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Washington County State’s Attorney Thomas Kelly said that because his office works closely with the Barre City Police Department, he has referred the case to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. Winston posted bail after Monday’s hearing and was released on conditions, including that he not contact the alleged victim. Winston declined to comment as he left the courthouse with his girlfriend and two infant children, but moments later he doubled back and approached a reporter waiting at the Clerk’s Office for paperwork related to the case. “You better not use my name,” Winston said. Contact Matt Ryan at 651-4849 or mryan@burlingtonfreepress.com.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Former Cop Indicted in Sex Case

Ex-Lansing police officer indicted in sex case
The Leavenworth Times - January 4, 2011

Lansing, Kansas - A former Lansing police officer and school board member charged last week in a child enticement case is facing a new federal grand jury indictment. The indictment charges William Brian Duncan with crossing the state line to attempt to engage in sexual activity with a minor and with using the Internet in an attempt to entice a minor for sexual activity. Both charges are related to the same incident, according to federal prosecutors. The indictment returned this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Kansas City replaces a criminal complaint previously filed against Duncan alleging the Internet charge. Duncan, 40, resigned from the police department and school board in November. He also resigned a leadership position in the Cub Scouts. The charges stem from alleged Internet chats he had with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old boy. Duncan is accused of arranging a sexual encounter and then driving from Leavenworth County, where he lived, to Kansas City, where he was arrested Dec. 29. He has been in custody since then. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in federal court, and a motion filed by prosecutors seeks to have him detained without bond.

Two Ex-Police Officers Sentenced to Prison

Two ex-Miami-Dade police officers sentenced to prison
The Miami Herald by David Ovalle - January 3, 2011

Joe Losada: 24 months in prison. Daniel Fernandez: 21 months behind bars. The two former Miami-Dade police detectives learned their fates Monday as a Circuit Court judge sentenced them for their roles in the shakedown of a drug dealer in 2006. The former officers showed no emotion as Circuit Judge Yvonne Colodny announced their prison terms. Their families, after the court hearing, did. "My son dedicates his whole life to his country. He was in the military. All that means nothing,'' cried Losada's mother, Delores Losada, 71. "And the drug dealer is on the street.'' Monday's sentencing capped a much-scrutinized public corruption case whose verdict was marked by defense allegations of jury misconduct. Colodny did find minor misconduct but refused to throw out the verdict. Miami-Dade prosecutor Bill Altfield, who had asked for longer prison terms for Losada and Fernandez, said he respected Colodny's sentencing decision. "It was a well-researched decision based on the facts and the law,'' he said. Authorities said an undercover sting caught the men pocketing part of $970 in marked bills that were planted inside a North Miami-Dade house as bait at a purported crime scene in 2006. The detectives were members of Miami-Dade's Crime Suppression Team, a plainclothes unit that targeted drug dealers in the crime-plagued Northside district. A cooperating informant in the case, Pedro Soler, was a convicted drug dealer. A second informant, Rafael Rodriguez, was Soler's acquaintance.

Losada and Fernandez were convicted in September. Jurors found Losada, 37, guilty of official misconduct, aggravated assault with a firearm, misdemeanor battery and criminal mischief. Fernandez, 59, was cleared of the official misconduct charge but was convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling -- for breaking back into the house where the theft took place. He was allowed out on bond until sentencing, while Losada remained in jail. Both men were acquitted of false imprisonment and grand theft. Losada's defense attorney, Richard Sharpstein, asked that his client be released on probation or house arrest after already having served five months. "The whole time Joe was a police officer, he was honest and sincere,'' Maria Milian, 59, Losada's aunt, told the judge. ``To be honest, he was getting scumbags out of the streets.'' Fernandez's wife tearily begged the judge to allow him to remain free so he can continue treatment for his long-running battle against prostate cancer. While at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, she complained, the processed food led to drastic weight loss and ill health for her husband. "They give him bologna sandwiches. That's a death sentence for him,'' she said. Colodny told her there was no evidence Fernandez would not receive adequate treatment while in state prison, but she allowed him to postpone his surrender until Jan. 26 in order to attend two last medical appointments. Defense lawyers said they plan to appeal. One avenue would be the allegations of jury misconduct, which the lawyers raised immediately after the conviction. In post-trial proceedings, it was revealed that one juror repeatedly mentioned during deliberations that his father is an attorney, though there was no evidence he talked to his father about the case. Another juror admitted that during trial, he asked his wife to save a newspaper article she found about the detectives. He said he did not read it, or discuss the case with her. Colodny, after taking the unusual step of interviewing the jurors, ruled in November that jurors were guilty of minor misconduct but said their gaffes did not unfairly sway the verdict. The case also drew the ire of Miami-Dade's police union, the Police Benevolent Association, which blasted prosecutors and the department's internal affairs bureau over the investigation. dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

Corruption Task Force to Convene

P.G. task force will convene soon
The Washington Examiner by Alex Pappas - January 1, 2011

A new task force in Prince George's County will meet soon, to examine ways to root out corruption from within the county government, a project following last year's federal probes that resulted in the arrests of several county officials and police officers, a county spokesman said. County Executive Rushern Baker has instructed the leaders of the Prince George's County Government Accountability, Compliance, and Integrity (ACI) task force to meet early this month to devise plans for creating an inspector general's office or similar watchdog organization, said Scott Peterson, a spokesman for Baker. A specific meeting date for the first meeting has not yet been determined, he said. The county government was rocked in November by news that then-County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife, Leslie, were arrested during an FBI raid of their Mitchellville home. Authorities contend the duo conspired to destroy evidence linking them to receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from a developer in return for favorable treatment. The FBI secretly recorded Jack Johnson telling his wife, now a county councilwoman, to flush a $100,000 check down the toilet and hide $80,000 in her bra. That same month, the FBI arrested three Prince George's police officers in various crimes, including drug trafficking and attempting to sell untaxed cigarettes and alcohol. Neither Jack Johnson nor Leslie Johnson -- who was not in office at the time of her arrest -- have been indicted on the charges yet. But that could change for the duo between now and Feb. 16, when a preliminary hearing in federal court has been scheduled for the couple. Last week, after petitioning from Jack Johnson's attorneys, a federal judge ruled that the former county executive could remove his court-ordered electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. Brian K. McDaniel, an attorney counseling Jack Johnson, declined to comment. Baker's task force aimed at preventing future corruption will be led by Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and longtime Prince George's Circuit Court Judge William Missouri. Their goal will be to "ensure that the internal review procedures and policies of Prince George's County are properly serving the residents of the county," Peterson said. The task force will assess the county's existing ethics board and other oversight operations, while researching similar practices in other locales, he said. Additional task force members have not yet been named. Glenn Ivey, the outgoing state's attorney in Prince George's County, said it's important that an inspector general's office doesn't complicate the efforts of already existing law enforcement agencies. "I think you have to make sure you set that up in a way that everybody knows who is suppose to be doing what, and work together in a way that is going to be more efficient as opposed to people stepping on each other's toes or getting in turf wars," he said. apappas@washingtonexaminer.com

Former Police Captian Faces Sentencing

Former Police Captain Faces Sentencing
WCPO by Bill Price - November 22, 2010

BATAVIA, Ohio - A former police captain convicted of stealing Oxycontin was sentenced Monday to two years probation and perform upwards of 250 hours of community service for tampering with evidence. Felicity police captain Delmas Pack, 42, pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month. Pack was caught stealing prescription drugs from a suspect during a sting operation by the Clermont County Sheriff's Department. Investigators say Pack confiscated 81 Oxycontin pills from an undercover officer. Those drugs were never turned in to the evidence department. Pack faced five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. However, both prosecution and defense attorneys agreed earlier this month that they would ask the judge to consider probation for the sentence, with Pack handing in his police license and promising never to work in law enforcement again. Pack's attorney has told the court that his client's main goal now is to look for new ways to support his family. Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Zuk also made holding down a full time job part of Pack's probation requirements. Pack had been with the Felicity Police Department for 16 years.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Police Chief Dismissed Same Day Son Accused of Attacking Homeless Man

Sanford police chief forced out the same day cop's son goes to jail, accused of attacking homeless man
The Orlando Sentinel by Rene Stutzman - January 3, 2011

There's a new casualty in the case of a Sanford police officer's son who threw a sucker punch that floored a homeless man: retiring Police Chief Brian Tooley. Sanford's City Commission voted Monday to dismiss Tooley. He was scheduled to retire Jan. 31, but at a special meeting, commissioners voted to oust him immediately. As of Tuesday, the department will be headed temporarily by former chief Steve Harriett, who currently works as chief deputy at the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. Also Monday morning, Acting Chief Capt. Jerry Hargrett admitted at a public meeting that the officer's son, Justin Collison, 21, should have been arrested a month ago, the night he punched the homeless man. Sanford police questioned Collison, put him in the back of a patrol car but did not handcuff or arrest him. A video shot by a witness on Dec. 4 shows Collison attacking Sherman Ware outside a downtown bar then walking away and punching another man. The police department began an internal investigation last week after the video, uploaded to YouTube, was featured in the local news. Collison turned himself in Monday morning at the Seminole County Jail, one month after the attack. He's accused of aggravated battery. He was released shortly after 4 p.m. after posting $4,000 bail. Turner Clayton, head of the Seminole County branch of the NAACP, met with Hargrett at police headquarters Monday. Clayton called Tooley's ouster a good thing. Tooley was sent an email that showed Collison sucker punching the homeless man a few days after it happened but the chief did not order an immediate arrest, Clayton said. "The people here in the city of Sanford have lost all confidence in his leadership," Clayton said. Collison was charged in another violent episode three years ago. According to paperwork with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, he got drunk at a keg party in a pasture near Osteen and opened fire with a rifle on an SUV with three men inside. One of the men was wounded in the chest from a bullet that passed within one inch of his heart, according to the incident report. One of the party-goers told a deputy, "Collison bragged all night that his father was Sanford law enforcement and that he could blow anyone's head off and get away with it," according to the incident report. The State Attorney's Office in Volusia County dropped the case because it found no witnesses who could identify Collison as the shooter, said Chris Kelly, office spokesman. Kelly said the office showed Collison no preferential treatment. It interviewed or reviewed the statements of a half dozen witnesses, he said. The shooting took place at night on State Road 415 while the victim's SUV was traveling down the road, according to the March 2007 incident report. The man who was wounded and the others in his vehicle did not see who opened fire, according to the incident report. A year later, Collison was charged in Volusia County with killing a deer, even though it wasn't hunting season. Prosecutors dropped that case after some evidence was suppressed, said Kelly. Collison is the son of Lt. Chris Collison, who is assigned to the Police Department's patrol division. Collison told police the night of the attack that he was at the Wet Spot, a bar on Park Avenue, when he was jumped by a white man inside and was hit in the head. Collison said he then stepped outside and punched someone. That was Ware, who is black. Ware had not been inside the bar and didn't hit anyone, Hargrett said. Officer Samuel McNeil wrote in his report that he did not arrest the lieutenant's son because Ware gave no sworn written statement and that Collison and his friend, Eric Lassady, who was also involved in the bar fight, gave conflicting accounts. The State Attorney's Office in Sanford has made no charging decision in the case, although, it has had paperwork on it for more than three weeks. Rene Stutzman can be reached at rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394.

Drunk Indiana Cop Arrested

Noblesville Officer Arrested On DUI Charge
The INDY Channel.com CNN - January 1, 2011

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- A Noblesville police officer has been suspended after his arrest on charges of drunken driving. 1st Class Patrolman Darin Landers was off duty when he was arrested in downtown Indianapolis early Saturday, said Noblesville police Lt. Bruce Barnes. Landers was placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation. Barnes said Landers was not driving a city-owned vehicle at the time of his arrest. “The community holds police officers to a high standard, on or off duty, and that is something we all understand and accept. We are obviously extremely disappointed that this arrest occurred and apologize to our citizens for letting them down,” Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt said in a statement. Landers is a seven‐year veteran of the Noblesville Police Department and is an active member of the Emergency Services Unit, Field Training and Evaluation Program and Honor Guard Unit, Barnes said.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Accused Conspiracy Cops File Flurry of Motions

Defense attorneys for police officers accused in probe file a flurry of motions
Tulsa World by Omer Gillham - January 2, 2011

Defense attorneys for police officers accused of conspiracy and perjury have filed a flurry of motions asking for proof of an actual police conspiracy and asking the presiding federal judge to combine or throw out alleged duplicate charges in the indictment. Two days after failing to get a federal indictment dismissed against Officers Jeff Henderson and Bill Yelton, attorneys for the officers filed 15 pretrial motions on Dec. 22, U.S. District Court records show. The criminal trial for Henderson, 37, and Yelton, 50, has been reset for June 20, records show. Henderson and Yelton are charged in a police corruption probe that became public in November 2009. The officers were charged in the same indictment unsealed July 20. Henderson was named in 58 counts: 22 related to perjury, 20 related to alleged civil rights violations, 12 connected to drug crimes, two witness tampering charges, one firearms count and one attempted bribery count. Yelton was charged with seven counts: four related to alleged civil rights violations, two related to purported witness tampering and one connected to a perjury allegation. An eighth charge of alleged retaliation against a witness was added in September by U.S. Attorney Jane W. Duke, a special prosecutor from eastern Arkansas leading the investigation of police misconduct. Attorneys Stephen Jones and Robert Wyatt IV represent Henderson, while Anthony Allen and Scott Graham represent Yelton. Duke said her office would file a response to the pretrial motions filed by the officers' attorneys.

Combine and conquer

On Dec. 20, U.S. District Judge Bruce Black of New Mexico rejected a motion to dismiss all counts against Henderson and Yelton. On Dec. 22, the deadline for pretrial motions, Jones and Wyatt filed a motion asking Black to combine or merge 20 counts of perjury into two counts. The perjury counts involve 10 allegations each that Henderson lied on the witness stand in two separate cases, the indictment states. In one case, Henderson allegedly gave 10 false answers when questioned about an alleged drug buy in May 2007 that sent Larry Wayne Barnes Sr. and his daughter, Larita Annette Barnes, to federal prison. The Barneses were freed from prison after the informant said the buy never occurred, records show. In a second case, Henderson allegedly gave 10 false answers when questioned about the presence of a defendant before an arrest on a weapons charge, records show. The defendant, Ronald Crawford, was not present at his address Jan. 5-6, 2009, yet Henderson repeatedly stated on the witness stand that he was, the indictment states. During Crawford's hearing, Henderson was asked several times if Crawford was present at his residence before the arrest. Henderson answered in the affirmative each time, court records show. Jones and Wyatt argue that Henderson's answers during Crawford's trial are essentially the same substance involving the same oath, same hearing and same day at the same location. The same legal argument applies to the alleged perjury counts involving the previous Barnes case, the lawyers contend. To divide his answers into 20 counts of perjury could subject him to multiple punishments or double jeopardy in violation of the Fifth Amendment and federal court rules if a jury found him guilty of such crimes, the lawyers argue in their motions. Henderson denies any wrongdoing as a police officer, including committing perjury under oath. In a similar motion, Jones and Wyatt ask Black to combine or dismiss eight counts of drug conspiracy or drug possession. Making a similar argument grounded in the Fifth Amendment and multiplicity rule, the lawyers state that multiple counts of drug possession and drug conspiracy for alleged crimes committed in the same time frame and place would subject their client to duplicate punishment for one criminal act, records show. In addition to Henderson and Yelton, Officers Nick DeBruin, 38; Bruce Bonham, 53; and retired officer Harold R. Wells, 59, were charged in a separate indictment July 20. Their trial is scheduled for March 21. The police probe involves allegations that police have stolen drugs and money, planted drugs on defendants, intimidated witnesses and violated the civil rights of numerous people. Thus far, 27 people have been freed from prison, had cases dismissed, sentences reduced or have been granted new trials as part of the police investigation, a Tulsa World investigation shows.

Request for statements

An additional pretrial motion by Jones and Wyatt includes a request for statements expected to be used by Duke to show alleged conspiracies between Henderson and other police officers or the former federal agent Brandon McFadden, 34. The motions ask for statements and other evidence showing the government's legal grounds for claims of police conspiracy. Henderson is accused of 11 conspiracies involving distributing of drugs, suborning perjury, deprivation of civil rights and witness tampering, the indictment shows. One of Henderson's chief accusers is McFadden, a former ATF agent who worked with Henderson on numerous drug busts. McFadden has implicated himself and Henderson in the alleged conspiracy to frame the Barneses in May 2007, court records show. McFadden pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy May 6 in federal court and is cooperating with Duke's office. The indictment against Henderson also mentions numerous unindicted co-conspirators who may be offering testimony during the police trial, records show.

Expected witnesses

In addition to McFadden, former police officers expected to be witnesses are Eric J. Hill, Callison Kaiser and John K. Gray. Gray pleaded guilty June 14 to stealing money during an FBI sting in 2009. He is cooperating with federal prosecutors. Hill and Kaiser have admitted stealing money during a drug arrest. They have been given prosecutorial immunity and are cooperating with Duke's office, a World investigation shows. Additional pretrial motions include efforts by Yelton and Henderson to be freed while they await trial. Jailed July 20, the officers have failed in two attempts to be released on bail while they await their trial. During a July detention hearing, Yelton and Henderson were ordered held without bail because the court determined they were a danger based on testimony from the hearing, records show. In August, Black affirmed the detention order, stating, "The court finds there are no conditions that would assure public safety and affirms the order of the magistrate judge." Jones' motion states that new evidence has possibly come to light that could permit Black to reconsider the ruling to keep the officers jailed.