Convictions Tied To Disgraced Harlem Cops Tossed By Manhattan D.A.

HARLEM, NY — Years after two Harlem cops were convicted of committing crimes while on the job, convictions they helped secure are being vacated after an investigation by Manhattan prosecutors.

A combined 188 misdemeanor convictions tied to eight disgraced former NYPD officers will be vacated, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday.

That includes two ex-cops once assigned to West Harlem's 30th Precinct: officer Michael Carsey and Sgt. William Eiseman, who were both convicted for unlawfully detaining and searching a man in 2007, then lying about it.

Prosecutors did not say how many of the 188 convictions were tied to each officer. Dating between 2001 and 2016, more than half of the convictions had resulted in fines or prison time, though no one is still incarcerated as a result of them, the New York Times reported.

The case that led to Carsey and Eiseman's convictions stemmed from an Aug. 20, 2007 incident. Carsey, a rookie cop, and his partner Eiseman illegally searched the iPhone of a man who had parked his van on Broadway near West 135th Street, DNAinfo reported at the time.

Eiseman used the photos to get a search warrant to enter the man's apartment, but lied in a court hearing later that month, claiming that he had smelled marijuana coming from the man's van before deciding to search him, DNAinfo reported. Carsey, too, falsely testified in court that the man had admitted to having drugs and guns in his home.

Eiseman pleaded guilty in 2011 to the illegal searches and perjury, and was sentenced to weekends in jail for three months. Carsey, who faced up to seven years in prison, was sentenced to 250 hours of community service.

Both men were fired from the NYPD because of their felony convictions.

Eiseman also admitted during his prosecution to having illegally searched two other men's cars in 2008, the New York Times reported. Starting in 1998, Eiseman faced a combined 59 allegations of misconduct, of which nine were substantiated — including six unlawful searches, an unlawful vehicle stop, and two retaliatory summonses.

The vacated convictions stemmed from an investigation launched by Bragg's office into more than 1,100 cases connected to a list of 22 former NYPD officers who were convicted of crimes. That list was compiled by public defender and advocacy groups including the Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and the Assigned Counsel Plan.

"While most law enforcement officials and police officers are dedicated public servants, these eight officers, who played a material role in hundreds of arrests, criminally abused their positions of power," Bragg said. "These illegal actions irrevocably taint these convictions and represent a significant violation of due process rights – the foundational principle of our legal system."

Elizabeth Felber, director of Legal Aid's Wrongful Conviction Unit, praised the move, but said the people affected by the convictions still had to "endure hardships that should have never been allowed to happen."

"This includes incarceration, hefty legal fees, loss of employment, housing instability, severed access to critical benefits and other collateral consequences," she said.

Related coverage: Nearly 200 Convictions Tied To Crooked NYPD Cops Will Be Tossed: DA