67 drug cases dismissed, tied to ex-NYPD detective accused of lying: BX DA
BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) – Another 67 drug cases tied to disgraced former NYPD detective Joseph Franco were tossed out on Wednesday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said.
“This is justice with integrity. After the detective was fired by the NYPD in April 2020, my Conviction Integrity Bureau did an exhaustive review of Bronx cases hinging on the former detective’s testimony and sworn statements,” Clark said. “Prosecutors had relied on evidence from someone with compromised credibility, and the district attorney cannot stand behind these convictions.”
The cases included 33 convictions for fourth-degree criminal facilitation, 24 convictions for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and nine for marijuana offenses that are no longer considered crimes. One conviction was for second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, Clark said. The charges spanned from 2011 to 2015, when Franco was an undercover narcotics detective in the Bronx.
In total, 324 Bronx cases connected to Franco have been dismissed.
Franco was fired from the NYPD in April 2020 after a departmental trial determined he had made false statements about narcotics arrests. The disgraced detective was indicted in 2019 on perjury and other charges, but that case was dismissed.