[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: ->My title-< 2 pigs, Henry Tavarez and Stephen Anderson,charged with conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct By CHRISTINE HAUSER Published: January 16, 2009 Two undercover narcotics officers have been charged with lying about a sting operation in Queens after one of the men they accused of selling drugs produced video evidence showing the officers had had no contact with him or three other men they arrested. The two, Police Officer Henry Tavarez, 27, and Detective Stephen Anderson, 33, surrendered to the authorities on Thursday and were arraigned in Queens Supreme Court. The charges include conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct, he said. If convicted, they face up to nine years in state prison. Officer Tavarez and Detective Anderson, who were released on $15,000 and $25,000 bail respectively, declined to comment after the arraignment. Bruce Wegner, Detective Anderson’s lawyer, said: “There is more to this case that will come out. Do not rush to judgment.” The district attorney said all arrests made by the two officers were being reviewed. After four officers in the Brooklyn South narcotics bureau were arrested in late 2007 and early 2008 in a case that involved accusations they traded drugs for information, prosecutors in Brooklyn threw out more than 150 cases in which at least one of the officers played a significant role. Detective Anderson and Officer Tavarez were part of a team on a “buy-and-bust” operation at Club Delicioso, at 43-24 91st Place in Elmhurst, on Jan. 4, 2008. The operation, which started at night and ended the next morning, resulted in six drug arrests. According to the indictment, Detective Anderson told his supervisor and said in police paperwork that he bought a Ziploc bag of cocaine for $40 from two men: Gabriel Lira and Julian Martinez. Instead, Detective Anderson had bought three bags of cocaine for $60 from the two men, the statement said. Officer Tavarez said he bought two bags of cocaine for $100 from four men: Jose Colon, 24; his brother Maximo Colon, 27; Raul Duchimasa; and Luis Rodriguez. But the indictment says Officer Tavarez did not buy cocaine from them, and instead used the cocaine from Detective Anderson as evidence for his own case. Detective Anderson also later told Officer Tavarez to claim that he had forgotten the details of the arrest of the four men, said the Queens district attorney, Richard A. Brown. Five of the men were released without bail the day they were arrested; Maximo Colon was released three days later after posting $2,500 bail. Jose Colon went back to the club and made a copy of the security video showing that the officers did not have any contact with the Colons, Mr. Duchimasa and Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Brown’s statement said. The charges against the four were later dismissed. The officers “are accused of knowingly engaging in criminal activity that could have resulted in lengthy prison terms for four innocent men,” Mr. Brown said. The other two, Mr. Lira and Mr. Martinez, pleaded guilty to drug sales charges and are awaiting sentencing, the district attorney’s statement said. Officer Tavarez is on modified assignment without his badge or gun while the Police Department does an internal investigation. His lawyer, Lawrence J. Fredella, said that he was merely “in training that night” and that Detective Anderson had led the operation. Detective Anderson joined the Nassau County Police Department in May as a recruit but resigned late last year before graduating from the academy, said Detective Sgt. Anthony Repalone of the Nassau County police. The Colon brothers have filed separate $5 million federal lawsuits, said Maximo Colon’s lawyer, Christina A. Hall. Maximo Colon said he was strip-searched in the precinct station house after the arrest and was held in a dark van for hours. When he asked why he had been arrested, he said the police told him, “Relax, you’re going to get out of here soon.” Ms. Hall said, “When you haven’t committed a crime and haven’t even been told why you are being arrested, it’s nightmarish.” Brad Wolk, a lawyer for Mr. Duchimasa, said “controls are needed” on buy-and-bust cases. “Juries want to believe these cops in these cases,” he said. Mick Meenan contributed reporting.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||