Detective Joseph E. Franco lied to arrest people on drug charges. fallout is widespread

[Demovictory9]

A Detective Was Accused of Lying. Now 90 Convictions May Be Erased.
The Brooklyn district attorney will move to dismiss old convictions in which a former narcotics detective, accused of perjury in Manhattan, played a key role.



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/nyregion/brooklyn-criminal-convictions.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=New%20York

Over nearly two decades as a police officer and narcotics detective, Joseph E. Franco made thousands of arrests, many for the possession and sale of drugs. Mr. Franco often worked undercover, and his testimony secured convictions for prosecutors around the city.

But officials who once relied on Mr. Franco are questioning his accounts. After he was accused of lying about drug sales that videos showed never happened, Mr. Franco was charged with perjury in Manhattan in 2019.

Now, the fallout over Mr. Franco’s police work is spreading: As many as 90 convictions that he helped secure in Brooklyn will be thrown out, prosecutors plan to announce Wednesday. Many more cases in other boroughs could follow — a reckoning that lawyers said appears larger than any in the city’s legal system in recent history.

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Most of those who faced more serious charges for drug sales — 27 people in total — spent between six months to a year behind bars. It was unclear how often the crime represented their first or only conviction, the district attorney’s office and public defenders said.


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One man who was arrested three times by Mr. Franco is set to have each case dismissed, lawyers said. The man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, said he was charged with several low-level drug crimes that he did not commit. Confronted with the prospect of a police officer’s testimony, he pleaded guilty.

The man was fresh out of high school, with a young son and a second child on the way, when he was arrested in 2005, he said. He spent several years behind bars. The man, now 35, said the transition home was rocky, and the arrests continue to affect him.

“I got the call that this was happening and it was supposed to be good news,” he said. “But honestly, I don’t know that I feel any better. It affected my whole way of thinking. That stuff changes you.”

[gratuitous]

1. All those lives ruined

Trust in the police, the prosecuting attorney, and the courts takes a significant hit. It's things like this that cause wild-eyed radicals to demonstrate in favor of reforming or defunding the police. Joseph Franco and his "work" on behalf of the state aren't good uses of taxpayer dollars. And how many millions more will the city and the state pay out to Franco's victims?

[Crunchy Frog]

2. Will the victims get any financial compensation?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. ACAB.

[ret5hd]

4. FTP

[Grins]

5. Just like George Floyd...

“Confronted with the prospect of a police officer’s testimony, he pleaded guilty.”

The cop who first sent Floyd to prison was later arrested and charged with felonies for fabricating evidence.

Why do we fetishize cops so much?