http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/nyregion/07cop.html?ref=nyregion
niiice.
A veteran New York City police detective was arraigned on perjury charges in the Bronx yesterday after a suspect in an attempted murder case secretly recorded his interrogation with an MP3 player.
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The latest news and reader discussions from around the five boroughs and the region.
Go to City Room » Detective Christopher Perino is accused of lying 12 times during his sworn testimony in the April trial of the suspect, Erik Crespo, by saying that he did not conduct an interrogation of Mr. Crespo.
At yesterday’s hearing in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, Detective Perino, 42, a member of the department for 19 years, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of first-degree perjury. He made no further comment during his court appearance. He has been suspended and has surrendered his badge and gun, the police said. He was released on $15,000 bail.
Each charge of perjury is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
“This indictment hopefully will send a strong message that anyone in law enforcement who engages in illegal conduct of this nature will be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said in a statement.
Mr. Johnson added that he did not believe that the problem of officers’ giving perjured testimony was widespread.
The detective’s lawyer, Steve Kartagener, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The perjury charges against the detective stem from the trial of Mr. Crespo, who was 17 at the time and accused of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for allegedly shooting a man in an elevator in an apartment building in the High Bridge neighborhood. The shooting occurred on Dec. 25, 2005.
Detective Perino, assigned to the 44th Precinct in the Bronx, was investigating the case. He interviewed Mr. Crespo at the precinct station house following Mr. Crespo’s arrest six days after the shooting.
During the trial, the detective testified that the only statement Mr. Crespo had made at the station house regarding the crime was to his mother, who had come to the precinct after her son’s arrest. “They want to know why I shot this guy,” the detective testified that Mr. Crespo told her.
The detective also said that he had not asked Mr. Crespo any questions.
But unknown to Detective Perino, Mr. Crespo had received an MP3 player for Christmas and had it in his pocket at the time of the interrogation, said Mark S. DeMarco, Mr. Crespo’s lawyer.
Because of his distrust of the police, Mr. Crespo pressed the record button before the interrogation began, Mr. DeMarco said.
The interview with the officer lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, and on it, the detective and the suspect talk about the shooting — which Mr. Crespo admitted committing, but in self-defense, according to a transcript of the interrogation.
The Bronx district attorney’s office, which was given the audio recording during Mr. Crespo’s trial, abruptly dropped the attempted murder charge against Mr. Crespo once they believed that the detective had lied under oath.
Mr. Crespo eventually agreed to a plea deal in which he would receive a seven-year prison sentence on weapons possession charges.
According to a transcript of the MP3 recording, the detective repeatedly tried to persuade Mr. Crespo to disclose how he had disposed of the gun, and to write a statement confessing to the crime. Otherwise, the detective told him, Mr. Crespo would not be allowed to tell his version of events at trial.
“I can make sure you don’t see the judge for three days,” Detective Perino told him, according to the transcript.
The detective also repeatedly tried to dissuade the suspect from consulting a lawyer, even though Mr. Crespo told him that he wished he had a lawyer to advise him, according to the transcript.
“I don’t know what to do, man,” Mr. Crespo said. “I wish I had some help. A lawyer or something. I don’t know what to do.”
At the end of the interrogation, before Mr. Crespo was placed under arrest, the detective allowed him to give his mother his personal possessions, including the MP3 player.
But during Mr. Crespo’s trial, Detective Perino repeatedly denied having asked Mr. Crespo any questions, according to a trial transcript.
“Now you said on direct examination that you never asked him any questions when you were alone with him in the room on Dec. 31, 2005. Isn’t it true?” Mr. DeMarco asked the detective during cross-examination at the trial.
“That’s correct,” replied the detective. “He wasn’t questioned.”
“Isn’t it true that you told him that if he didn’t tell you where the gun was, you would keep him from seeing a judge for three days?” the lawyer asked.
“No sir,” the detective said.
“Did you ever tell him in that room that evening that you had no problems with him carrying a gun?” Mr. DeMarco said.
“Never said it,” Detective Perino responded.
“Are you sure?” the lawyer asked.
“I never interrogated your client, sir,” the detective said.
niiice.
A veteran New York City police detective was arraigned on perjury charges in the Bronx yesterday after a suspect in an attempted murder case secretly recorded his interrogation with an MP3 player.
Skip to next paragraph
City Room Blog
The latest news and reader discussions from around the five boroughs and the region.
Go to City Room » Detective Christopher Perino is accused of lying 12 times during his sworn testimony in the April trial of the suspect, Erik Crespo, by saying that he did not conduct an interrogation of Mr. Crespo.
At yesterday’s hearing in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, Detective Perino, 42, a member of the department for 19 years, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of first-degree perjury. He made no further comment during his court appearance. He has been suspended and has surrendered his badge and gun, the police said. He was released on $15,000 bail.
Each charge of perjury is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
“This indictment hopefully will send a strong message that anyone in law enforcement who engages in illegal conduct of this nature will be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said in a statement.
Mr. Johnson added that he did not believe that the problem of officers’ giving perjured testimony was widespread.
The detective’s lawyer, Steve Kartagener, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The perjury charges against the detective stem from the trial of Mr. Crespo, who was 17 at the time and accused of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and other crimes for allegedly shooting a man in an elevator in an apartment building in the High Bridge neighborhood. The shooting occurred on Dec. 25, 2005.
Detective Perino, assigned to the 44th Precinct in the Bronx, was investigating the case. He interviewed Mr. Crespo at the precinct station house following Mr. Crespo’s arrest six days after the shooting.
During the trial, the detective testified that the only statement Mr. Crespo had made at the station house regarding the crime was to his mother, who had come to the precinct after her son’s arrest. “They want to know why I shot this guy,” the detective testified that Mr. Crespo told her.
The detective also said that he had not asked Mr. Crespo any questions.
But unknown to Detective Perino, Mr. Crespo had received an MP3 player for Christmas and had it in his pocket at the time of the interrogation, said Mark S. DeMarco, Mr. Crespo’s lawyer.
Because of his distrust of the police, Mr. Crespo pressed the record button before the interrogation began, Mr. DeMarco said.
The interview with the officer lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, and on it, the detective and the suspect talk about the shooting — which Mr. Crespo admitted committing, but in self-defense, according to a transcript of the interrogation.
The Bronx district attorney’s office, which was given the audio recording during Mr. Crespo’s trial, abruptly dropped the attempted murder charge against Mr. Crespo once they believed that the detective had lied under oath.
Mr. Crespo eventually agreed to a plea deal in which he would receive a seven-year prison sentence on weapons possession charges.
According to a transcript of the MP3 recording, the detective repeatedly tried to persuade Mr. Crespo to disclose how he had disposed of the gun, and to write a statement confessing to the crime. Otherwise, the detective told him, Mr. Crespo would not be allowed to tell his version of events at trial.
“I can make sure you don’t see the judge for three days,” Detective Perino told him, according to the transcript.
The detective also repeatedly tried to dissuade the suspect from consulting a lawyer, even though Mr. Crespo told him that he wished he had a lawyer to advise him, according to the transcript.
“I don’t know what to do, man,” Mr. Crespo said. “I wish I had some help. A lawyer or something. I don’t know what to do.”
At the end of the interrogation, before Mr. Crespo was placed under arrest, the detective allowed him to give his mother his personal possessions, including the MP3 player.
But during Mr. Crespo’s trial, Detective Perino repeatedly denied having asked Mr. Crespo any questions, according to a trial transcript.
“Now you said on direct examination that you never asked him any questions when you were alone with him in the room on Dec. 31, 2005. Isn’t it true?” Mr. DeMarco asked the detective during cross-examination at the trial.
“That’s correct,” replied the detective. “He wasn’t questioned.”
“Isn’t it true that you told him that if he didn’t tell you where the gun was, you would keep him from seeing a judge for three days?” the lawyer asked.
“No sir,” the detective said.
“Did you ever tell him in that room that evening that you had no problems with him carrying a gun?” Mr. DeMarco said.
“Never said it,” Detective Perino responded.
“Are you sure?” the lawyer asked.
“I never interrogated your client, sir,” the detective said.
