Times Police Corruption Article 3-4-2005

The New York Times March 4, 2005 Friday 5 Officers Charged With Trading Favors For Counterfeit Goods By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM; Colin Moynihan contributed reporting for this article. A counterfeit pink Coach handbag. A knockoff New York Jets jersey. A fake Yankees jersey with Reggie Jackson's number, 44, and his name on back. This unexceptional collection of sham designer goods, along with a handful of other items for sale cheap on many Manhattan street corners, was the price five police officers put on their badges, according to corruption charges leveled against the officers, most of whom have been on the force for at least 10 years. Four of the five men were charged yesterday; the fifth and the peddler were charged last week. The officers were all assigned to the 13th Precinct in Manhattan, which includes Chelsea, where sidewalks are thick with peddlers hawking knockoffs like designer handbags, sunglasses and pirated DVD's of first-run movies. The officers received the goods from a street peddler between July and November of last year, according to criminal complaints. In exchange, one of the officers gave the peddler confidential information about pending search warrants aimed at counterfeit goods, Manhattan prosecutors and police officials said at a news conference. Two other officers, at the peddler's request, chased away competitors from his favored selling spot on the northeast corner of West 27th Street and Broadway, and one of them tipped him off about the seizure of counterfeit goods, according to the complaints. And two detectives, also at the peddler's request, issued a desk appearance ticket to one of his associates rather than arresting him on charges of attempted assault, a law enforcement official said. Both of those men also gave the peddler information about the arrests of other people, the complaints said. ''What these officers did is that they sold their badges for merchandise, for counterfeit Coach bags, for jerseys,'' Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, said at the news conference. ''This was not a huge amount of merchandise, but they were selling information on search warrants, giving favors, like making somebody change their location.'' He added, ''This is all fairly low-level stuff, but this is the way official corruption starts.'' In fact, the officers face far less serious charges than those in other corruption scandals, like a recent investigation implicating as many as 10 current or former officers with stealing large amounts of drug money and drugs. But several law enforcement officials said it was nonetheless deeply troubling that the officers charged with selling information were apparently willing to do so for such a paltry return. As one police official put it, ''It's small quantities of merchandise and large quantities of stupidity.'' As part of the investigation, Internal Affairs detectives watched the peddler hand over jerseys and other items to the officers, officials said. The peddler the officers chased away was an undercover Internal Affairs investigator, Mr. Morgenthau said. Mr. Morgenthau said prosecutors from his office and the Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau, which alerted his office to the corruption, also used wiretaps. A law enforcement official said the officers

were recorded speaking matter-of-factly about what the peddler wanted them to do. In fact, the official said that more than 15 additional officers were secretly recorded talking to the peddler on his cellphone, although investigators believe that many of those had not done anything illegal. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because much of the evidence in the case has not yet been disclosed, said dozens more officers called the peddler, according to his phone records. Another official said that about half a dozen additional officers could face criminal or administrative charges in the case. Mr. Morgenthau would say only that the investigation was continuing. Officials could not put a number on how many jerseys, handbags and other items the officers are accused of taking, or the value of the items, but acknowledged that it was small. All the officers were charged with third-degree bribe-receiving and second-degree receiving a reward for official misconduct, both felonies, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor. If convicted, they could face up to seven years in jail. The four arrested yesterday were Officers George Santiago, 38, a 16-year veteran, and Jaime Albertelli, 31, who has been on the force for 11 years, and Detectives Brian Bartlett, 37, a 13-year veteran, and Rodney Lewis, 40, an officer for 19 years. The four officers were arraigned last night in Manhattan Criminal Court before Judge Neil E. Ross. All pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance. Philip Karasyk, a lawyer whose firm represents Detectives Bartlett and Lewis, said both men had clean records. ''I think that when all the facts come out, this is going to prove to be far less significant than it's now being portrayed,'' he said. ''There was not a quid pro quo and these officers did nothing to violate either departmental guidelines or the criminal laws of the state of New York.'' Howard Tanner, who represented Officers Santiago and Albertelli at their arraignments, declined to comment. Officer Jashua Penalo, 32, an officer since 2000, was charged Feb. 23 and pleaded not guilty. The peddler, Jamil Faied, 44, was charged Feb. 24 with third-degree bribery, a felony, and pleaded not guilty. Both men, who could face up to seven years in prison if convicted, were released on their own recognizance.