Joseph Bruno's Blog, page 70

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Another NYPD Scandal – When Will They Stop?

The real question is – How does NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly still have a job?

In the past few weeks three major police scandals have hit the New York City Police Department. First eight narcotic cops were arrested for "flaking," or plating drugs on innocent people to pad their arrest records. Then we had five current and three retired cops arrested for gun smuggling, amongst other crimes. Now threes a charm, with the announcement by Bronx DA Robert Johnson that sixteen cops have now been arrest in a wide-spread parking ticket scandal.

Bronx prospectors claim that in order to have the tickets fixed, they tickets would "either be physically removed from the precinct station house after they'd been written or doctored them so that they would be dismissed. In some cases, the cops who fixed tickets called cops who'd written the summonses and told to lie under oath so that the cases would be dismissed."

According to the prosecutors, "anywhere from $1 to $2 million in revenue could have been lost because of fixed tickets."

Bronx DA Robert Johnson said, "This is felony conduct. This is criminal conduct."

What's really disturbing about this entire situation is what was said by PBA President Pat Lynch, who said, "When the dust settles, and we have our day in court, it will be clear that this is part of the NYPD at all levels."

At all levels? Does Lynch mean it goes right up to Police Commissioner Kelly himself? All levels means all levels. And Ray Kelly sits right atop the totem pole that is the New York City Police Department.

I find it hard to believe that Kelly, who has the reputation of being totally incorruptible, would have anything to do with something as trite as fixing parking tickets for friends. But as the big boss, Kelly certainly has some culpability as to what his underlings have been doing lately. Obviously, there is a lack of supervision embedded in the present culture of the NYPD, and the lack of supervision starts at the top.

As usual, Kelly gave lip service to the seriousness of these crimes. For the third time in the past few weeks, Kelly said a different version of, "These misdeeds tarnish the good name of police officers." And, "Those who try to rationalize these crimes are kidding themselves. That trust must not be violated."

No kidding Kelly. We all know this. We also know the vast majority of the NYPD are not crooks and criminals, and do a damn good job in policing NY City. But there is a serious lack of supervision by the brass, or maybe like Lynch said, this goes higher than the mere beat cop or street detective.

Either way, this looks bad for Kelly, and like I wrote in a previous blog before this ticket-fixing business came to light, Ray Kelly needs to step down as the New York City Police Commissioner. New York City needs a new face with a different perspective and how to properly supervise the New York City police force. Considering there were three separate police scandals is just a few weeks, the police supervisory situation New York City has at the present time is obviously not working.

You can read the article below at the following link:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/co...

16 cops arraigned in NYPD tix-fix scandal

By DOUGLAS MONTERO, JAMIE SCHRAM and JOSH MARGOLIN

Last Updated: 7:40 PM, October 28, 2011

Posted: 9:29 AM, October 28, 2011

More Print

Sixteen cops connected to an NYPD ticket-fixing scandal pleaded not guilty today after the probe that uncovered the massive scandal began when a Bronx police officer was accused of having ties a drug dealer.

The cops stood before a judge in Bronx Supreme Court as hundreds of fellow officers turned up to the Bronx courthouse in a show of support.

The officers, both in plainclothes and in uniform, lined up inside and outside the courthouse in support of their fellow officers.

Prosecutors said the tickets would either be physically removed from the precinct station house after they'd been written or doctored them so that they would be dismissed.

In some cases, the cops who fixed tickets called cops who'd written the summonses and told to lie under oath so that the cases would be dismissed, prosecutors said.

Across the five boroughs, anywhere from $1 to $2 million in revenue could have been lost because of fixed tickets, authorities said.

"This is felony conduct. This is criminal conduct," said Bronx DA Robert Johnson.

At the same news conference this afternoon in the Bronx, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said "these misdeeds tarnish the good name of police officers."

He added that reforms have been put in place — like an electronic summonses tracking system — over the past year to make sure cops don't exploit any loopholes.

Kelly said, "Those who try to rationalize [these crimes] are kidding themselves. … That trust must not be violated."

Before the arraignments, police union officials lashed out at the NYPD for initiating the probe.

"Right now, this has been laid on the shoulders of police officers," said PBA President Pat Lynch. "When the dust settles, and we have our day in court, it will be clear that this is part of the NYPD at all levels."

The officers allegedly involved in the scandal turned themselves in Thursday night and earlier today.

As cops began showing up at Bronx Supreme Court in support of the officers accused of wrongdoing — some as early as midnight — police union officials began to organize outside the courthouse.

"We want to show as much support as we can and we line the wall," said Joe Alejandro, a police union treasurer.

Jose Ramos, a cop investigated since 2009 for possible ties to a drug dealer, was the first to appear before a judge this morning, pleading not guilty.

Ramos, who was arrested last night coming out of a parent-teacher conference, was caught on wiretaps allegedly discussing ticket-fixing.

Cops had received a tip about Ramos and was being investigated for ties to a drug dealer at the time.

The charges against Ramos include attempted robbery, attempted grand larceny, attempted heroin possession and charges related to selling bootleg videos out of a Bronx barbershop he owns.

Kelly said an undercover cop, working as a barber, infiltrated the store and witnessed the illegal activities that took place there.

"These were serious offenses. … They followed the wrongdoing wherever it went," said Kelly.

At the arraignment, Assistant Bronx DA Omer Wiczyk said of Ramos that he "sold his shield. He violated his oath."

Outside the courthouse, Ramos' lawyer John Sandleitner said, "They put him in the middle of this circus because that's what it is."

Of his alleged ties to Bronx drug dealer Lee King, Sandleitner said the dealer had "borrowed Ramos' car and [was] got caught with marijuana. It's guilt by association."

He said the charges against his client don't warrant his $500,000 bail. Ramos remains in custody because he can't make bail, Sandleitner said.

After Ramos was arraigned, Lt. Jennara Everleth-Cobb, who works with the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau, pleaded not guilty to charges she tipped off fellow cops to the probe. She was charged with three misdemeanors for leaking information about the probe and released with no bail.

Also arraigned was Sgt. Jacob Solorzano, who was charged with two counts of official misconduct. He was also freed without bail. Ramos was Solorzano's NYPD driver and the sergeant was apparently with Ramos when the cop went to collect $30,000 in drug money from an uptown hotel.

Outside court, Solorzano's lawyer John Patten said his client didn't know Ramos planned to "rob someone" of $30,000 — but went along for a ride, noting, "he told him they were just messing with someone."

"I don't know why he was even indicted," Patten said, adding that prosecutors noted that Solorzano was not aware of any criminal activity.

The list of police officer who were arrested:

Joseph Anthony, Virgilio Bencosme, Jason Cenizal, Lt. Jennara Everleth-Cobb, Michael Hernandez, Marc Manara, Christopher Manzi, Brian McGucki, Eugene P. O'Reilly, Jaime Payan, Ruben Peralta, Jose R. Ramos, Jeffrey L. Regan, Luis R. Rodriguez, Christopher Scott, Jacob G. Solorzano.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/co...

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – Fat Freddie Thompson Extradited to Spain

Well it looks like Fat Freddie Thompson may be in for a long stretch in a Spanish prison.

Thompson was arrested in mid-October in Dublin, Ireland, on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant issued from Malaga, Spain last year. It seems that Thompson, while he was in Spain, was wiretapped having several conversations with associate Gary Hutch. In these conversations, the Spanish authorities claim the two men were discussing the distribution of drugs in Spain, Portugal, and Amsterdam.

The Spanish police also says that Thompson was a bodyguard and chauffeur for the Christy Kinahan crime family, whom Thompson has recently fallen out of favor with. In a undercover operation called Operation Shovel, the Spanish police gathered information which they say proves that the Kinahan Crime Family is "heavily involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and money laundering through a complex network of companies."

After staying in a Dublin jail for several days, Thompson has agreed to be extradited to Spain to stand trial. If convicted of the charges in Spain, Thompson could spend up to nine years in prison.

Before he agreed to be extradited to Spain, Thompson tried in vain to get the government to pick up his lawyer's tab. Thompson's counsel John Berry argued in court that Thompson was basically indigent and has been supported by his mother for the past few years. Thompson did have a €20,000 settlement he received in road accident claim three years ago, but Berry said that money has already been spent. The judge didn't buy Berry's argument, saying that Thompson appears to travel freely whenever he wants to (you need money to do so), and that Thompson is not registered to pay tax in Ireland, nor does he receive social welfare.

Thompson has been placed in a special protection unit in jail, because the government fears some of his former colleagues may be out to get Thompson, and also because they fear Thompson may instigate some violence of his own in prison. Also, Thompson is not allowed any visitors except for his lawyer.

Stay tuned for more developments in the Fat Freddy Thompson saga.

The article below can be seen at:

'Fat' Freddie Thompson consents to extradition to Spain

19/10/2011 – 16:00:36

'Fat' Freddie Thompson has consented to his extradition to Spain to face charges that he is a member of a criminal gang involved in drugs and arms trafficking.

The 30-year-old from Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin was arrested last Friday on a European Arrest Warrant issued from Malaga last year.

While appearing relaxed at times in court, Mr Thompson seemed impatient for today's proceedings to wrap up.

The 30-year-old has agreed to his immediate surrender to police in Spain, where he will face three charges of being part of an international criminal organisation that deal in weapons and drugs.

If convicted, he could face up to nine years in a Spanish prison.

The judge refused him legal aid after State lawyers objected on the grounds that while Thompson appears to travel freely and frequently from the jurisdiction, he is not registered for tax, nor is he in receipt of social welfare.

Thompson's counsel John Berry argued to no avail that his client has been supported by his mother and that €20,000 compensation received in road accident claims three years ago had been spent.

http://www.herald.ie/news/courts/gard...

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/fa...

Gardai in Spain for 'Fat' Freddie handover deal

By Ken Foy, Crime correspondent,

DUBLIN detectives have travelled to Spain to negotiate the handover of gangster 'Fat' Freddie Thompson.

Sources say that gardai are spending a number of days with their Spanish counterparts examining evidence against Thompson.

"This is standard procedure in a case like this," a source said.

Thompson is due to appear before the High Court today where he is expected to apply for bail after being remanded in custody on Friday when he was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant.

Spanish authorities want to extradite him to Spain and they allege that Thompson operated as a bodyguard and chauffeur for the Christy Kinahan drugs organisation, which was targeted in a massive international police operation in May, 2010, known as Operation Shovel.

Spanish authorities say that the Kinahan organisation is heavily involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and money laundering through a complex network of companies.

Sources have revealed that in the weeks before his arrest, Thompson had fallen out of favour with the Kinahan mob — organisation who his gang has been sourcing drugs from for over a decade.

A European Arrest Warrant has also been issued for Thompson's close pal Gary Hutch (30) but gardai have not been able to find him.

The Herald has previously revealed that Thompson's arrest warrant contains explosive details about a phone call tapped by Spanish police in December, 2009, between 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch in which the two criminals discuss firearms.

The warrant also alleged that 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch travelled together to Portugal in November, 2009 and Amsterdam in May, 2010, to organise drug shipments.

The warrant also states that Hutch and Thompson lived together in Spain and were "right-hand men" of Daniel Kinahan — the son of Ireland's richest drugs trafficker Christy Kinahan.

Also mentioned on the warrant is Ross Browning (27) from north inner city Dublin who is alleged to have collected a major Irish criminal from Malaga Airport in May, 2010, in a car which was also regularly used by the notorious criminal Hutch.

Browning was one of around 30 people arrested by police investigating Kinahan's drug organisation last year.

He was released without charge after being questioned for a number of days by Spanish authorities.

Since being sent to Cloverhill Prison on Friday, Thompson has been placed in the protection unit in the jail because of fears that he may become a victim of a feud related attack or that he may orchestrate violence within the prison.

It is understood he has had no visitors in jail.

kfoy@herald.ie

- Ken Foy, Crime correspondent,

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – The Hells Angels

I've heard a lot of bad things about the Hells Angels in my lifetime, and I want to set the record straight, based on my experiences with them.

First off, branding all Hells Angels as drug dealers and worse, is like calling all Italian/Americans like myself — members of the Mafia.

I know the Hells Angels have gotten a lot of bad press lately, with the murders of Jeffrey Pettigrew and Jonathan Bacon, the shooting of Larry Amero, and the arrest of Cesar Villagrana. But as far as I'm concerned, these are isolated incidents and in no way indicative of the behavior of the vast majority of the Hells Angels.

I grew up in Manhattan's Little Italy, which northernmost boarder is Houston Street, just three blocks from the Hells Angels Manhattan headquarters at 77 East 3rd Street. I've always felt that the Hells Angels were to their neighborhood, what the wise guys were to my neighborhood. You might not like them personally, and maybe some of them committed crimes, but they kept their neighborhoods safe. Going back to the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s, Little Italy, and the area around the Hells Angels headquarters, were the safest neighborhoods in the five boroughs.

And you'd think with the close proximity of the two groups, both sometimes known for violence, that there would have been problems between the two factions. But to my knowledge, and I lived the Little Italy area for 48 years, the Italian/Americans and the Hells Angels got along just fine, because we basically left each other alone. We practiced mutual respect, which is much needed in our world today.

In the 1970′s and the 1980′s, there was an Italian/American after-hours joint on 2st Street, just off First Avenue. Many times I'd be cruising in my car through the neighborhood with my friends, looking for a parking spot, so that we could spend some quality time in the social club. And many times, while looking for that parking spot, we'd pass the Hells Angels headquarters, where a few Hells Angels were congregating outside their club. They knew who we were, and we knew who they were. We'd wave a greeting to them to them, and they'd wave back.

No trouble. No animosity. No "What are you doing in our neighborhood?" nonsense.

And as far as I know, this peace has continued until today. (I moved to Florida in 1995)

In fact, when Robert DeNiro, who was born and raised on Bleeker Street and hung out in Little Italy, was starring and directing the film "A Bronx Tale," he hired several actual Hells Angels for the classic bar-fight scene, which was supposed to have taken place in the Bronx's Little Italy.

Sure, there's bad apples in the Hells Angels. But like the Italian/Americans in Little Italy, most Hells Angels are law-biding citizens, who just like to enjoy the camaraderie of a biker gang.

Frankly, stereotyping an entire group because of the actions of a few of its members, no matter what group, or no matter what nationality, is not what America is all about.

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – NYPD Cops Arrested in a Gun Smuggling Ring

Just when you thought the public relations nightmare the NYPD has suffered recently, caused by crooked cops planting drugs on innocent people, was nearing an end, the NYPD and it's beleaguered Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, get hit with another devastating body blow. And this one might be fatal for some.

Five active duty cops and three retired cops were arrested by the FBI for allegedly smuggling guns, cigarettes and slot machines into New York from out of state. In all, 12 people were arrested and charged with conspiracy to transport firearms and conspiracy to transport and receive stolen merchandise.

The active duty cops arrested were William Masso from the 68th Precinct, Eddie Goris and John Mahoney, also of the 68th Precinct; Ali Oklu of the Brooklyn South Task Force; and Gary Ortiz of the 71st Precinct station house. The retired cops who were pinched were Joseph Trischitta, Marco Venezia and Richard Melnik, all of whom previously were assigned to the the 68th Precinct.

It all started in 2009 when Masso was introduced to an informant who was told Masso could fix a parking ticket for him. One thing led to another and soon Masso and his crew were involved in several illegal endeavors, which culminated in them being unwittingly involved in a sting operation to purchase firearms, which they intended to sell on the streets of NY City. These firearms included M-16 assault rifles and handguns, some of which had "obliterated" serial numbers. Unbeknownst to the crooked cops, all of the firearms were inoperable, and used only as part of a elaborate sting to trick the cops into acting in an illegal manner.

Reeling from all the NYPD police officers being arrested in the past few months, for one illegal activity or another, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a press conference, "Masso represents a betrayal of the highest order of an officer's oath."

Mayor Bloomberg put his two cents in when he proclaimed, "Our city has lost too many people – and too many police officers – to criminals who buy guns illegally, including Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, who were killed trying to take illegal guns off the street in 2003. Our administration is taking every possible step to crack down on illegal guns and continue making the safest big city in the country even safer."

Then Bloomberg added, "The NYPD is the finest police department in the world, and these arrests do nothing to diminish the selfless commitment of the 35,000 men and women who put on a uniform every day, and who put their lives on the line to keep us safe."

Finest police department in the world? Who's Bloomberg kidding?

Too many bad things have happened in the past few months within the NYPD for Bloomberg to make such a blanket, and boarderline-ridiculous statement like that. Sure the vast majority of New York City policemen and policewoman do their jobs in a fair and competent manner. Some ever go above and beyond the call of duty. But there seems to be an inherent sense of privilege, even arrogance, in the NYPD that allows certain cops to think that they can get away with almost anything.

And no matter what Kelly and Bloomberg say, this problem starts at the top.

President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that said, "The buck stops here."

Well in the NYPD, the buck stops at Kelly, and the man who hired Kelly was Bloomberg, who, no matter how hard he tries to spin this, is culpable here too. I find it hard to fathom this corruption, we've seen lately in the NYPD, would have happened on Rudy Giuliani's watch.

Somehow Bloomberg, against previous city rules, got himself elected for a third consecutive term as mayor. He'll be out of office soon, and he should take Kelly with him. Or Kelly should leave sooner of his own volition. The NYPD needs a complete house cleaning, and it should start with the appointment of a new police commissioner.

People may say Kelly is certainly not directly responsible for what has happened in the past few months. He can't have eyes and ears everywhere, and he can't control the actions of a few rogue cops. I say maybe Kelly has unwittingly allowed a culture to fester in his department that allows certain cops to think they are above the law. In sports, when a manager or head coach has a losing season, or two — he gets fired. It should be no different here.

Kelly should step down and allow a new face to take over the NYPD. Someone who was not previously a New York City police officer himself, like Kelly was. The NYPD needs a new sheriff in town, preferably from out of town, to clean up this mess that is now the New York City Police Department.

Kelly. Bloomberg. Are you listening?

The article below can be seen at:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ny...

NYPD cops among 12 arrested in $1M gun smuggling sting

jmj

By AMBER SUTHERLAND and BRUCE GOLDING

Last Updated: 6:55 PM, October 25, 2011

Posted: 8:10 AM, October 25, 2011

More Print

Call them the bootleggers in blue.

Eight current and former city cops were part of a $1 million ring that smuggled guns, cigarettes and slot machines into New York from out of state, the feds charged today.

The 12 defendants — including five active-duty officers NYPD officers based in Brooklyn — were busted this morning on charges including conspiracy to transport firearms and conspiracy to transport and receive stolen merchandise.

The weapons included M-16 assault rifles and handguns, some of which had "obliterated" serial numbers, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

All of the firearms had been rendered inoperable, however, as part of an elaborate sting operation to snare the allegedly crooked cops.

"Our city has lost too many people – and too many police officers – to criminals who buy guns illegally, including Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews, who were killed trying to take illegal guns off the street in 2003," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Our administration is taking every possible step to crack down on illegal guns and continue making the safest big city in the country even safer.

"The NYPD is the finest police department in the world, and these arrests do nothing to diminish the selfless commitment of the 35,000 men and women who put on a uniform every day, and who put their lives on the line to keep us safe."

The early-morning arrests capped an undercover investigation that began in late 2009 after an FBI informant was introduced to one cop — William Masso of the 68th Precinct station house — "as a person who could 'fix' the [informant's] traffic tickets," the court papers say.

But a law-enforcement official told The Post that the probe was "totally unrelated" to the massive NYPD ticket-fixing scandal currently under investigation by the Bronx District Attorney's Office.

Sources have said that a grand jury has voted indictments against at least 17 cops in that case.

In addition to Masso, the other active-duty cops named in today's federal complaint are Eddie Goris and John Mahoney, also of the 68th Precinct; Ali Oklu of the Brooklyn South Task Force; and Gary Ortiz of the 71st Precinct station house.

Three retirees from the 68th — Joseph Trischitta, Marco Venezia and Richard Melnik — and former Sanitation Police officer Anthony Santiago were also arrested, along with New Jersey Corrections Officer David Kanwisher and two friends of Santiago's, Michael Gee and Eric Gomer.

Law enforcement officials said that In a March 2011 meeting with the ring, Masso said they should carry their police badges and if stopped say they were cops working off-duty to deliver items purchased at auction.

Masso told an informant in July that a shotgun he had provide was just a "sample" and that he could get anything "from A to Z," officials said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, dealing with latest stain on the NYPD's reputation, said Masso represents "a betrayal of the highest order of an officer's oath."

"These crimes are without question, reprehensible – particularly conspiring to import untraceable guns and assault rifles into New York. The public trusts the police not only to enforce the law, but to obey it," added the FBI's New York Assistant Director Janice Fedarcyk.

"These crimes, as alleged in the complaint, do nothing but undermine public trust and confidence in law enforcement. We are committed to continuing to work with the Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD to root out corruption, wherever it may be."

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Junkie Says NYPD Cops Gave her Drugs in Exchange for Oral Sex

It seems the NYPD is getting an awful amount of bad press in the NY City newspapers lately. First Detective Steven Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, admitted in Brooklyn Supreme Court that he was involved in "flaking," or planting drugs on innocent people just to improve his record of arrests, and the arrest record of fellow narcotics detective Henry Tavarez. And Anderson said he had seen other Narcotics Detectives doing the same thing "multiple times."

Now an admitted junkie, Melanie Perez, testifying at the trail of Narcotics Detective Jason Arbeeny, who is one of eight cops accused of "flaking, said a cop summoned her to his home, made her smoke drugs (crack), then pulled down his pants and demanded oral sex.

"What was I going to do?" Perez testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court. "I did it."

Perez also testified that the cop she gave oral sex to, whom she only knew as Frank, introduced her to another narcotics cop named Sean Johnson, who also gave her drugs on several occasions.

"He gave me a nice piece for Christmas," Perez said. "It was crack and it was kickin'."

Johnston was convicted early this year of one corruption count and sentenced to probation. But he did beat 34 other charges, and Perez testified at his trial too.

So how much of what Perez has said (she admits her memory is fuzzy about these incidents, which occurred in 2006, or 2007) can we believe? And does it make a difference anyway in the trial of Arbeeny?

Perez admits she never met Arbeeny, and the only reason she was called to testify in court was for the prosecutors to show that Arbeeny was part of a bigger conspiracy. What Perez said in court, even if she is telling the truth, does not prove one iota that Arbeeny is guilty of "flaking" two people in Coney Island, which is what he is being accused of.

"Nobody saw me do anything," Arbeeny said. "But my life is ruined."

Sometimes prosecutors, in order to convict a high profile person, like a NYPD police officer, throw as much spit on the wall as they can, and hope some of it sticks. This seems to be one of these cases.

My guess is, if the best witnesses the prosecutors have against Arbeeny are as credible as Perez, Arbeeny walks on the two charges of flaking.

But Arbeeny's right. Either way, his life is ruined.

The article below can be seen at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

Narcotics cops showered junkie with crack and forced her to perform sex acts in return: testimony

BY Oren Yaniv

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, October 24th 2011, 4:00 AM

Police corruption trial

NYPD narcs showered a junkie with crack and forced her to perform sex acts in return, she testified in the latest embarrassing revelation to emerge from a police corruption trial.

In one incident, Melanie Perez recalled on the stand last week, a cop called her to his home, made her smoke drugs then pulled down his pants and demanded oral sex.

"What was I going to do?" she testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court. "I did it."

The damning account came during the bench trial of Jason Arbeeny, one of eight undercovers charged in a scandal that rocked the Brooklyn South Narcotics squad.

The trial has already yielded troubling testimony on officers "flaking" – planting drugs on innocent victims – to meet arrest quotas and get overtime pay.

Perez also testified that the sexually demanding officer, whom she knew only as Frank, had later introduced her to a colleague, Sean Johnston, who also gave her narcotics on several occasions.

"He gave me a nice piece for Christmas," she said. "It was crack and it was kickin'."

Johnston was convicted early this year of one corruption count and sentenced to probation.

He was acquitted of 34 other charges, including those relating to accusations by Perez, also a witness in his bench trial.

The Brooklyn woman, who called her memory "fuzzy," said her testimony related to events in 2006 or 2007. She never dealt with Arbeeny, she said.

Her testimony was meant to show the accused cop, charged for flaking two people in a Coney Island bust, was part of a larger conspiracy.

"Nobody saw me do anything," a bitter Arbeeny said outside the courtroom. "But my life is ruined."

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Joe Bruno on the Mob- Hells Angel Killed in Road Rage Motorcycle Accident

It seems that the only luck the Hells Angels have had lately is bad luck.

First in August, Hell's Angel Jonathan Bacon was shot to death in Kelowna, British Columbia, outside the Delta Hotel. Larry Amero, a full-patch member of the White Rock chapter of the Hells Angels, was also shot in the same incident.

Then Hells Angel leader Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew was killed on September 23 in a Reno Casino. And at Pettigrew's funeral, Hells Angel Steve Tausan was gunned down and his alleged killer Steve Ruiz is still on the run.

Now a Hells Angel, known only as George of the California Nomads, was killed in an apparent road rage incident while traveling on his motorcycle in Oakland, California. Apparently a paratransit van driver named Eddie Hall took exception when he was allegedly cut off by a group of Hells Angels traveling on their motorcycles.

Hall was so enraged, he swerved his van into the cadre of Hells Angels on their bikes. As a result, George of the California Nomads had his motorcycle caught on the front of the van (with George still in it). Hall, instead of stopping, drove several miles with George stuck on the front of the van. When Hall finally stopped in San Leandro, George was so mangled up, he died soon after at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

Hall was arrested and charged with with felony hit and run. The police say they could find no previous connection between Hall and the Hells Angels, and they are fairly certain this was a case of road rage gone deadly.

Hall worked for an East Bay paratransit company, and the officials at that company say the Hall was "a model employee."

In light of this road rage incident, they may have to modify Hall's employee evaluation record.

The article below can be read at:

http://sfist.com/2011/10/24/hells_ang...

Hells Angel Killed in Hit-and-Run, Dragged Down Freeway

The Hells Angels sure have been in the news a bunch lately, with that funeral murder and the suspect disappearing (and there was the whole mortgage fraud thing too). And now one of their ranks was killed in a pretty violent fashion on Saturday in Oakland in what appears to have been a road-rage incident. A paratransit van, whose driver may have been enraged by a group of Angels who cut him off on eastbound 580, swerved and struck one of the motorcyclists, whose body and bike became caught on the front of the van and were subsequently dragged for miles before the driver pulled over in San Leandro.

The driver of the van, 31-year-old Eddie Hall, has no previous criminal record and no previous traffic citations on his record. The victim, identified only as George of the California Nomads, was on his way to a get-together with several other Angels at the Hells Angels Oakland chapter headquarters. He was pronounced dead at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley Saturday evening. Hall has been charged with felony hit and run, and there is no evidence to suggest that he was connected to the Angels in any way, or that there was any motive beyond road rage, which was suggested by a Hells Angels representative. The East Bay paratransit company for which Hall worked says he was a model employee.

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – Suspect in the Murder of Steve Tausan Is On the Run

The Hells Angels saga, that started with the September murder of Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew in a Reno casino, continues.

Steve Tausan, who according to the article below, was a friend of Pettigrew, was gunned down at Pettigrew's October 15th funeral. Despite a heavy police present at Pettigrew's funeral, Tausan's killer somehow managed to escape. Now if has come to light that person being sought for the murder of Tausan is Steve Ruiz, also a member of the Hells Angels.

Sgt. Jason Dwyer of the San Jose, Calif., police department told ABCNews.com. that police believe Ruiz has two black eyes and other injuries, consistent with being in a fight. He is believed to be on the run with his girlfriend, Christel Renee Trujillo, 42, and traveling in a gold or pewter Chevrolet Suburban.

So far Ruiz has managed to stay one step ahead of the law, but Sgt. Dwyer says that tips are continuing to pour in as to Ruiz' whereabouts. One such tip lead the police to a Stockton, California home, but when the police arrived, Ruiz, probably tipped off himself, had already flown the coop.

"We will follow every single lead until we find him," Dwyer said. "We have investigators working around the clock."

In light of the fact that the police have acted so inept during this entire situation (how Ruiz managed to shoot and kill Tausan at Pettigrew's funeral with the cemetery teeming with cops is beyond belief), it's more likely that Ruiz will finally be captured by the Hells Angels friends of the two deceased men (Tausan and Pettigrew). If that happens, the San Jose police (Keystone Cops?) will have more murder suspects to find, and if the past is any prediction of the future, they won't be able to find those murder suspects either.

The article below can be read at:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/search-hells...

Police Step Up Search for Hells Angels Shooting Suspect

Steve Ruiz, 38, of San Jose is being sought for allegedly shooting and killing fellow Hells Angels member Steve Tausan, 52, after the two fought Oct. 15 at a funeral for a slain motorcycle club member, according to police. (SFPD)

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB and KATTI GRAY

Oct. 23, 2011

Police searched a Stockton, Calif., home and the surrounding area late Saturday night after receiving a tip that the suspected shooter of a Hells Angel member was hiding out in the central California town.

But the search for Steve Ruiz, 38, turned up empty, Sgt. Jason Dwyer of the San Jose, Calif., police department told ABCNews.com.

Ruiz, who is also a Hells Angels member, is wanted for allegedly gunning down Steve Tausan, 52, last weekend at a San Jose cemetery where thousands were attending the burial of another Hells Angels member who was murdered last month at a Nevada casino.

Tausan had told the San Jose Mercury News that he had received death threats following his friend's murder Sept. 23, the newspaper reported.

Tausan was notoriously tried and acquitted for the 1997 fatal beating of a Pink Poodle strip club patron.

At the time of his death, he served as the sergeant-at-arms of the Santa Cruz, Calif., Hells Angels chapter.

Despite a heavy police presence at the memorial, the entire crime scene had already been cleaned before authorities could reach the scene, Dwyer said.

Police believe Ruiz has two black eyes and other injuries, consistent with being in a fight.

He is believed to be traveling with his girlfriend, Christel Renee Trujillo, 42, in a gold or pewter Chevrolet Suburban, Dwyer said.

Tips are pouring in, although Dwyer declined to elaborate on any specific information.

"We will follow every single lead until we find him," he said. "We have investigators working around the clock."

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – Hugh Mo, Ex-NYPD Big Wig, Clams Up on Lou Eppolito Ruling

This one really boggles the mind.

Never in the history of New York City have their been two more crooked cops than the so-called "Mafia Cops"– Lou Eppolito and Steven Carracappa. Both were convicted of committing murders for the Mafia, and passing out confidential information to mobsters about who may have been acting as informers against those mobsters.

Yet as far back as 1985, there was enough evidence to prove that Eppolito was working for the Mafia. Eppolito was brought up on corruption charges by the NYPD, but when he went up before NYPD official Hugo Mo, Mo inexplicable cleared Eppolito on the charge that he was passing confidential information to mobsters.

Now, the lawyers for the families of two murder victims of Eppolito and Carracappa, Israel Greenwald and Anthony Di Lapi, want to know how Mo decided in 1985 that the charges were not proven against Eppolito, despite a slew of evidence that Eppolito had taken a confidential police file and passed it to a mobster. FBI agents later found this file in a mobster's home, and Eppolito's fingerprints were all over that file.

Yet Mo has decided to clam up, and has insisted that it would be improper to force him to reexamine his decision.

Improper to whom?

At his disposition, Mo claimed, "It is un-American, as far as I'm concerned, for any adjudicating officer to go back and do a Monday morning quarterback."

Mo then told a reporter for the NY Daily News, "I really have nothing to hide. We can all speculate whether Eppolito gamed the system. But for the lawyers to delve into my mental processes is completely out of line."

No, it's Mo who's completely out of line. Because of Mo's incompetence, or maybe he just made a mistake, Eppolito was kept on the force, and all the murders Eppolito and Carracappa committed were committed after Eppolito was cleared by Mo. So you can make a good case, that Greenwald and Di Lapi might still be alive if Mo had done the right thing in the first place concerning Eppolito.

The fact is both Eppolito and Carracappa are locked up for life. And anything Mo can do help the families of Greenwald and Di Lapi should be done, and done immediately. In order to win their case against the NYPD, the lawyers of the families of Greenwald and Di Lapi need to prove that the NYPD was negligent in keeping Eppolito on the force. In my opinion, there is certainly enough evidence to prove the NYPD's negligence, but the case would be a slam dunk if Mo would just tell the truth about why he cleared Eppolito.

I'm waiting with bated breath for that to happen. But I'm not holding my breath until it does happen.

The article below can be seen at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

Ex-NYPD honcho won't discuss ruling on Mafia Cop Louis Eppolito

BY John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, October 14th 2011, 4:00 AM

A former top NYPD official is refusing to spill all he knows about how Mafia Cop Louis Eppolito was cleared of corruption charges 10 months before committing his first murder for the mob.

Hugh Mo, former deputy commissioner of trials, argues that he was entitled to the same privilege as a judge when lawyers for the families of two victims killed by Eppolito and his detective partner Stephen Caracappa attempted to grill him in a civil deposition for a wrongful death suit.

The lawyers want to know how Mo found in 1985 that the charges were not proven despite a mountain of evidence that Eppolito had taken a confidential police file and passed it to a mobster.

FBI agents found the file in the mobster's home, and Eppolito's fingerprints were on it.

Backed by city lawyers, Mo insists it would be improper to force him to reexamine his decision, according to court papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

"It is un-American, as far as I'm concerned, for any adjudicating officer to go back and do a Monday morning quarterback," Mo stated at the deposition.

But lawyer Nick Brustin says Mo was not a judge, but was merely presiding over the disciplinary hearing.

Mo also discussed the hearing with Daily News reporter Greg Smith for the book "Mafia Cops," Brustin pointed out.

Brustin represents the families of Israel Greenwald and Anthony Di Lapi, who were later killed by the mobbed-up detectives on the payroll of the Luchese crime family.

"I really have nothing to hide," Mo told The News yesterday. "We can all speculate whether Eppolito gamed the system."

"But for [the lawyers] to delve into my mental processes is completely out of line," he said.

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

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Joe Bruno – Paul Gaccione Says "I'm Not in the Mafia."

Paul Gaccione saying "I'm not in the Mafia" reminds me of the Shakespeare line, "The woman doth protest too much." But for some reason, I believe Gaccione may be telling the truth. Or at least part of the truth.

At the present time, Gaccione is out on bail $1 million bail for a charge of second degree murder in connection to a gangland hit 19 years ago. The only person who puts him at the scene of the crime is informer John Leto, who pleaded guilty of being the shooter in the killing of Angelo Sangiuolo, who was killed 19 years ago for allegedly robbing Genovese crime family gambling dens. Leto said Gaccione was the driver of the getaway car after the shooting. Sangiuolo's cousin, Genovese capo Angelo Prisco, was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for ordering the hit on Sangiuolo. Gaccione admits he knews both Leto and Prisco, but denies he had anything to do with Sangiuolo's murder.

Gaccione told the Bergen Record, "I've never killed anyone. I never gave the order to kill anyone. I'm not in the Mafia. I have friends who are politicians, medical doctors, law enforcement, movie stars…people from all walks of life. Do I have some people that I know that have been labeled members of organized crime, some that are currently incarcerated? Yes."

Gaccione, who is said to be by law enforcement a "reputed mobster" and "Genovese enforcer," recently penned his autobiography "Beyond the Beyond – My Journey to Destiny," which was published in 2010 by Brighton Publishing. In this book he claims his life was changed when he heard voices from his mother, who had been dead for years, telling him in an Atlantic City casino the "play my birthday."

Gaccione says he wrote his book for a special reason. He said, "What He [God] has done in my life with the special occurrences He has given me, I have been chosen to be given them to spread them to the world,"

Now this whole situation about hearing voices from his mother to "play his birthday" sounds ridiculous to me. But who knows what people sometimes hear in their heads, or think they hear in their heads. And besides, this is totally irrelevant to the charges that Gaccione was involved in Leto's murder.

Whenever there is a rat involved in an arrest, and this rat has a vested interest in turning informer so that he might get a reduced sentence, or maybe a more favorable prison to do his time in, I hear a little voice in my head telling me, "Something sounds fishy here."

Gaccione is scheduled to go on trial in the spring of 2012. And if Leto's testimony is the only evidence the prosecution has on Gaccione, I wouldn't be surprised if Gaccione walks out of court a free man.

You can read the article below at:

http://www.northjersey.com/arts_enter...

Out on bail for murder charge, reputed Lyndhurst mobster pens book

Thursday, October 20, 2011 Last updated: Thursday October 20, 2011, 2:04 AM

BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA

MANAGING EDITOR

South Bergenite

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Last week, sitting in the Lyndhurst office of his close friend/publicist/legal adviser Michael O'Gorman, Paul "Doc" Gaccione has a wide smile on his face when discussing his e-book that was recently published by Brighton Publishing and made available at online stores like Barnes and Noble and Amazon. He is just as candid about how the federal government has labeled him.

STAFF PHOTO/JAIMIE WINTERS

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Lyndhurst resident Paul Gaccione has authored a book that looks back on his life in and out of the headlines as well as dives deep into the spiritual connection he says he has with the forces of life after death. A reputed mobster, Gaccione is out on $1 million bail for a charge of second degree murder in connection to a gangland hit 19 years ago.

"I've never killed anyone. I never gave the order to kill anyone. I'm not in the mafia," he says as his fists rattle the table in front of him. "I have friends who are politicians, medical doctors, law enforcement, movie stars…people from all walks of life. Do I have some people that I know that have been labeled members of organized crime, some that are currently incarcerated? Yes."

Last year, Gaccione was sitting in a Riker's Island jail cell; a second degree murder indictment lurking over his head for his alleged involvement in a mob-related hit that took place in the Bronx 19 years ago. It was last April when Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson made the announcement that Gaccione allegedly was the driver of a van that was used in a hit on 32-year-old Angelo Sangiuolo. Sangiuolo was shot for allegedly robbing the Genovese crime family gambling operations, according to prosecutors. Sangiuolo's cousin, Genovese capo Angelo Prisco, was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for ordering the hit and other federal charges. John Leto, the alleged triggerman, later pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the feds, according to published reports. Gaccione said Leto is the one that placed Gaccione at the scene that day and the only one to make such an accusation. He said he knows Prisco and Leto, but vehemently denies any involvement in Sangiuolo's murder.

Fast forward a year and out on $1 million bail, with the possibility of the 64-year-old Lyndhurst resident still spending 25 to life behind bars, Gaccione, through his "destiny," as he calls it, is a published author. He says he's ready to tell the world what life in and out of the headlines is like and how the forces of life after death and God's will have reached out to him along the way to guide him through his trials and tribulations.

Gaccione was just about a year into penning "Beyond the Beyond – My Journey to Destiny" when he was greeted at the door on April 20, 2010. It was the FBI, arresting him on the charge that could put him in jail for the rest of his life.

"As one agent cuffed me to the chair, another agent told me I was being arrested for murder," writes Gaccione in the book. "He mentioned a name – I had no idea who it was."

The story, although a memoir of his life, both living in Lyndhurst and behind bars in federal prison on previous drug charges, was written for a reason, which readers are not essentially greeted to until the last chapter. It was a Sunday evening in 2008 when Gaccione says he went to his bedroom, observed a tunnel with a bright shining light and several other lights. He walked toward the tunnel and heard his deceased mother say, "All our spirits live on, although we are accountable for our actions on earth. We can influence our destinies each and every day."

That reason, one of great spirituality and understanding of life after death is prefaced by diving deep into the life of a man that has been dubbed a "reputed mobster" and "Genovese enforcer" in the headlines, but started life as an awkward, skinny kid with thick glasses who was forced to stand up to his bullies with his fists.

"This is how my fighting began. The older kids would call my glasses Coca-Cola bottles, and I would get so mad that I would beat them up. Before you knew it, I was building a reputation around my town of being tough," writes Gaccione.

He soon beefed up and stood up for the other kids bullied in town. He excelled at sports; boxing being a passion, and he excelled through his teens in amateur bouts. In Lyndhurst High School, he played football and basketball and ran track. A fight on the courts ended basketball and an injury ended football. After junior college, he came home and got a job at a women's health spa. He soon asked for a $5,000 loan and using credit and workers from his father's fledgling construction business, he opened his own fitness center and turned it into a profitable operation.

Things soon began to spiral downward for Gaccione. It started just after junior college. He and a friend were entering the parking lot of the Lyndhurst Diner when a car backed up, almost hitting them. His friend honked the horn, words were exchanged, and three men came at Gaccione.

"That's when the guy closest to me began to throw the first punch. I blocked it and then threw a punch at him. He went down, hit his head on the ground, and died," writes Gaccione.

A trial declared the death self-defense on Gaccione's part. The fitness center was doing well. He and his wife would have four kids. In the midst however, he found gambling, drugs, failed business ideas and other women. He left his wife. He lost thousands on sports games and in Atlantic City casinos. He brought cocaine from the wrong people. He met them while he was operating a deli at the Harmon Cove towers in Secaucus. He just wanted small amounts to feed his addiction. His dealers sold large amounts and the DEA was onto them. Surveillance caught Gaccione on tape ordering coke. After trial, he would spend four years in federal prison.

"The problem was that when the jury heard 50 different people calling, saying 'Give me one or give me two or three,' there was no way to know if they were referring to kilos or ounces," writes Gaccione.

But the powers of "Beyond the Beyond" are what Gaccione wants readers to take away from the book. They appear frequently throughout; premonitions in a way. It happened as young as when he was in grammar school when he had a dream his music teacher had died. An announcement over the loudspeaker the next morning announced her death. He remembers getting the chills and realizing he had been to the "Beyond the Beyond" the night before for the first time. It happened after his mother's passing when he invited his two brothers on a trip to Atlantic City. Losing miserably, he heard his mother say "play my birthday." He played six on roulette and even when he told the croupier to not hit six, the number kept coming up. "Beyond the Beyond" came to Gaccione at two of his major court appearances. First was the trial on drug charges and then at a bail hearing for his murder charge. Something told him at the last minute to write to the judge from the heart. Eight years was cut to four in the drug case and a bail was granted in his murder case, a rarity for a murder charge.

Even how the book was published was destiny, said Gaccione. He sent a paper manuscript when Brighton only takes them electronically. The regular mailman at the company was out that day and would have discarded it. It made the way to acquisitions.

"Writers like this—and books like this—are very rare, not only because of who he is, but because of the scope of what he has written," said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing.

Gaccione, expecting a trial on his murder charge in the spring of 2012, said the outcome will all be a part of his destiny. He feels his destiny will let him bring his writings to the masses, in an effort to help people with his message of "Beyond the Beyond."

"What He [God] has done in my life with the special occurrences He has given me, I have been chosen to be given them to spread them to the world," says Gaccione.

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – Crooked Cops Stink on Ice

There's hardly anything worse than a crooked cop, and it seems that the New York City Police Department has more crooked cops then they'd like to admit.

It all came to light when narcotics Detective Steven Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, admitted in court that he was involved in "flaking" or planting drugs on innocent people just to improve his record of arrests, and the arrest record of fellow narcotics detective

Henry Tavarez.

Anderson said on the witness stand in Brooklyn Supreme Court, "Tavarez was worried about getting sent back to patrol and, you know, the supervisors getting on his case. I had decided to give him the drugs to help him out so that he could say he had a buy. As a detective, you still have a number to reach while you are in the narcotics division."

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Anderson then dropped a bombshell when Justice Gustin Reichbach asked Anderson, "Did you observe with some frequency this practice which is taking someone who was seemingly not guilty of a crime and laying the drugs on them?"

Anderson answered, "Yes, multiple times. It was something I was seeing a lot of, whether it was from supervisors or undercovers and even investigators. It's almost like you have no emotion with it, that they attach the bodies to it, they're going to be out of jail tomorrow anyway; nothing is going to happen to them anyway."

Because of the actions of Anderson, Taveras and several other narcotic detectives, 300 drug arrests by the NYPD had to be tossed out because of the corrupt narcotics squads. And as a result, New York City has been forced to pay out damages to the innocent people who had the drugs planted on them. The total amount paid out so far is $1.2 million. And this money came right out of the New York City taxpayer pockets.

The question that begs to be asked is just how far does this corruption go up the ladder of the NYPD. Were these crooked cops's actions approved by their supervisors, or were the supervisors just lax, or incompetent in the handling of their underlings?

Any answer to the above questions is not good for the New York City Police Department, where the vast majority of the police officers are doing their jobs in an honest and fair manner.

It's time for the NYPD, and it starts with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, to step up the supervision and surveillance of it's own men, especially when narcotics is involved. There has always been a "blue wall of silence" when it comes to cops ratting out other cops, and it time for this wall to be torn down for good.

Otherwise, the next time it could be you, or me, who gets unjustly thrown in jail because some crooked cop needed to meet his arrest quota.

The articles below can be seen at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

and

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies

BY John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

A former NYPD narcotics detective snared in a corruption scandal testified it was common practice to fabricate drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas.

The bombshell testimony from Stephen Anderson is the first public account of the twisted culture behind the false arrests in the Brooklyn South and Queens narc squads, which led to the arrests of eight cops and a massive shakeup.

Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was busted for planting cocaine, a practice known as "flaking," on four men in a Queens bar in 2008 to help out fellow cop Henry Tavarez, whose buy-and-bust activity had been low.

"Tavarez was … was worried about getting sent back [to patrol] and, you know, the supervisors getting on his case," he recounted at the corruption trial of Brooklyn South narcotics Detective Jason Arbeeny.

"I had decided to give him [Tavarez] the drugs to help him out so that he could say he had a buy," Anderson testified last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

He made clear he wasn't about to pass off the two legit arrests he had made in the bar to Tavarez.

"As a detective, you still have a number to reach while you are in the narcotics division," he said.

NYPD officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Anderson worked in the Queens and Brooklyn South narcotics squads and was called to the stand at Arbeeny's bench trial to show the illegal conduct wasn't limited to a single squad.

"Did you observe with some frequency this … practice which is taking someone who was seemingly not guilty of a crime and laying the drugs on them?" Justice Gustin Reichbach asked Anderson.

"Yes, multiple times," he replied.

The judge pressed Anderson on whether he ever gave a thought to the damage he was inflicting on the innocent.

"It was something I was seeing a lot of, whether it was from supervisors or undercovers and even investigators," he said.

"It's almost like you have no emotion with it, that they attach the bodies to it, they're going to be out of jail tomorrow anyway; nothing is going to happen to them anyway."

The city paid $300,000 to settle a false arrest suit by Jose Colon and his brother Maximo, who were falsely arrested by Anderson and Tavarez. A surveillance tape inside the bar showed they had been framed.

A federal judge presiding over the suit said the NYPD's plagued by "widespread falsification" by arresting officers.

Bad busts cost city $1.2M in settlements for NYPD's false drug-arrest lawsuits

BY John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, October 16th 2011, 4:00 AM

Nearly 300 drug arrests by the NYPD had to be tossed due to corrupt narcotics squads.

The city has paid more than $1.2 million to settle false arrest lawsuits involving eight undercover cops charged with corruption in the NYPD Brooklyn South and Queens narcotics squads, the Daily News has learned.

Prosecutors have also been left to clean up the mess created by detectives accused of planting drugs on innocent victims – a practice known as "flaking." Some detectives were accused of fabricating the circumstances surrounding busts.

Nearly 300 drug arrests had to be tossed in Brooklyn and Queens, most of them made by Brooklyn South narcs tainted by their false testimony and shredded credibility.

Two major drug probes in Queens were also derailed by the corruption probe, a spokesman for District Attorney Richard Brown said.

The settlements paid by the city in two dozen state and federal suits reviewed by The News ranged from $15,000 to $300,000. In addition, Detective Jason Arbeeny – now on trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court – was forced to hand over $750 out of his own pocket to settle a case, according to court records.

Brooklyn lawyer Leo Glickman, who has represented dozens of plaintiffs who claimed they were falsely arrested on drug charges, said the NYPD ignores warning signs of corruption.

"These [indicted] officers were unlucky enough to get caught on surveillance tape or audio tape, and then the Police Department was forced to act," the lawyer said.

Glickman said the NYPD should be carefully monitoring drug arrests that are dismissed by prosecutors for possible patterns of misconduct.

"The biggest problem in the Police Department, it seems to me, is the lack of accountability," he said.

An NYPD spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The Brooklyn South scandal came to light when Detective Sean Johnstone, unaware that his hidden wire was recording, was caught on tape bragging that he had seized 28 bags of coke but vouchered only 17. Investigators later learned the undercover cops were flaking suspects from their illicit stash.

Johnstone was indicted along with Sgt. Michael Arenella and Detectives Jerry Bowens and Julio Alvarez in June 2008.

Around the same time, Johnstone was blabbing on the tape, Queens narcs Stephen Anderson and Henry Tavarez were flaking innocent victims with drugs in a Queens bar, proven by surveillance footage in the bar.

Anderson pleaded guilty and began cooperating with authorities. He testified recently at the trial of Arbeeny, a Brooklyn South narcotics detective, that lying, falsifying and flaking were common occurrences driven by arrest quotas and the desire to earn overtime.

He also implicated veteran undercover cop Adolph Osback, and at least one other officer whose name is being withheld by The News because he remains under investigation.

Detectives Endowment Association President Michael Palladino said the vast majority of narcotics cops risking their lives every day are victims of the scandal, too.

"By his own admission, Anderson is clearly involved in wrongdoing, but it's disgraceful that to justify his own actions, he decided to attack the integrity and credibility of his hardworking fellow narcotics detectives," Palladino said.

Johnstone was convicted of felony conspiracy, and Arenella of official misconduct. Both were fired. Tavarez also pleaded guilty, and Alvarez was acquitted after a bench trial. Osback is awaiting trial in Brooklyn and Queens.

Bowens murdered his girlfriend after he was arrested and is serving a 40-year prison sentence.