WHAT HEELS: The Big Fix
The New York Times reports that “curb-level cronyism” - fixing a moving violations ticket for a friend or relative – “is threatening to erupt into a New York Police Department scandal,” with as many as 300 police officers possibly facing disciplinary action and another two dozen in The Bronx possibly facing criminal charges:
About half of the targets of the criminal inquiry are police union officials, said the law enforcement official and the people who were briefed, all of whom would discuss the investigation only on the condition of anonymity.
It remains unclear when the grand jury investigation, which is being conducted by the office of the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, and the administrative investigation, which is being pursued by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, will be completed.
Dozens of officers, including at least one high-ranking official, have testified before the grand jury, several people who were briefed said. The investigation has involved the extensive use of wiretaps and put hundreds of officers under scrutiny.
While the law enforcement official and several lawyers involved in the matter called the wrongdoing relatively minor, the case could have serious implications for the department because of the large number of officers thought to have participated, either by asking for a ticket to be fixed or by doing the actual fixing. …
Law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation said that among its many targets were an official with the Sergeants Benevolent Association, Sgt. Raymond Brickley; and two Bronx trustees with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Officers Joseph Anthony and Michael Hernandez. Officer Anthony declined to comment, and Officer Hernandez did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
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