316 Convictions Linked To Crooked NYPD Cops To Be Tossed: DA

NEW YORK CITY — More than 300 convictions linked to crooked NYPD cops should be tossed, said Manhattan District Alvin Bragg.

Bragg moved Tuesday to vacate scores of convictions tied to nine officers who were guilty of crimes related to their duties.

In total, Bragg seeks to toss out 308 convictions connected to the cops. All but one of those officers is also tied to a prior batch of 188 convictions that Bragg moved to vacate in November.

"We cannot stand by convictions that are built on cases brought by members of law enforcement who have violated the law," Bragg said in a statement.

The 509 total convictions that Bragg wants to dismiss are largely misdemeanor cases.

And Bragg's actions are part of a wider movement to hold NYPD officers who serve New Yorkers accountable for their abuses.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn and Queens have made similar moves to toss cases tied to convicted cops.

The cops in the most recent batch of cases are, according to Manhattan prosecutors:

• Jason Arbeeny (24 cases), who planted drugs on two people and was convicted of official misconduct, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records. He received five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service in 2012.
• Michael Arenella (21 cases), who took money from an undercover officer posing as a drug dealer and, in turn, using that cash to pay an informant. He was convicted of petit larceny, official misconduct and falsifying business records, for which he received 160 hours of community service in 2009.
• Michael Carsey (26 cases), who lied under oath about how he obtained information that led to an arrest. He was convicted of first-degree perjury and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. He received a conditional discharge with 36 days of community service in 2012.
• Johnny Diaz (129 cases), who accepted bribes and gifts from an undercover officer posing as a drug dealer. He also helped the undercover cop transport cocaine, authorities said. He was convicted of bribe-receiving in the second degree, petit larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, for which he received a six-year prison sentence.
• William Eiseman (56 cases), who gave false testimony and conducted unlawful searches. He was convicted of first-degree perjury and official misconduct, for which he served three months in jail and five years of probation in 2011.
• Michael Foder (2 cases), who was convicted of a false declaration in court for lying under oath at a federal hearing. He received three months in jail on the federal perjury charge in 2019.
• Richard Hall (27 cases), who released an 18-year-old woman from custody in exchange for sexual favors. He was convicted of bribe-receiving in the third degree and official misconduct, for which he received five years of probation in 2019.
• Nicholas Mina (12 cases), who stole and sold guns from a police precinct. He was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree, fourth-degree larceny and conspiracy in the fourth degree. He received a 15.5-year sentence.
• Oscar Sandino (19 cases), who was convicted of a federal misdemeanor for coerced sexual misconduct against two women in custody. He was sentenced to two years in prison and one year of supervised release in 2011.

Sandino is the only officer who wasn't tied to the previous batch of convictions that were tossed by Bragg.

Related coverage:

• Brooklyn DA To Toss Nearly 400 Convictions Linked To Crooked NYPD Cops
• Nearly 200 Convictions Tied To Crooked NYPD Cops Will Be Tossed: DA
• Queens DA Asks Courts To Vacate 60 Cases After Cops Convicted