Brooklyn DA To Toss Nearly 400 Convictions Linked To Crooked NYPD Cops

NEW YORK CITY — Nearly 400 convictions could be tossed because of their links to 13 NYPD officers convicted of misconduct, said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

Gonzalez's plan will be the sixth-largest mass conviction dismissal in United States history, officials said Wednesday.

Prosecutors planned that day to ask a judge to dismiss 47 felony convictions after a conviction review unit found those cases that couldn't have been pursued without testimony from cops later found to be crooked, Gonzalez said.

“These former police officers were found to have committed serious misconduct that directly relates to their official job duties, calling into question the integrity of every arrest they have made," he said in a statement.

"A thorough review by my Conviction Review Unit identified those cases in which their testimony was essential to proving guilt, and I will now move to dismiss those convictions as I no longer have confidence in the integrity of the evidence that underpinned them."

In total, Brooklyn prosecutors plan to ask judges to vacate 378 convictions, most of which are misdemeanors, largely consisting of drug and traffic cases, authorities said.

No one is currently incarcerated because of those convictions between 1999 and 2017, prosecutors said.

The dismissals stemmed from Gonzalez's decision last year to dismiss 90 convictions that relied on former NYPD Detective Joseph Franco, who was indicted on perjury charges, officials said. It prompted further investigations into other cops similarly charged and convicted of on-duty misconduct.

Thirteen such ex-NYPD officers were eventually identified by Brooklyn investigators, prosecutors said. All were the primary witness in cases with no other independent evidence, officials said.

Those cops, along with the number of requested dismissed convictions, are, according to prosecutors:

• Jason Arbeeny, who was convicted of official misconduct and related charges for planting drugs in 2007 while assigned to the Brooklyn South Narcotics Division. He is linked to 14 convictions.
• Michael Arenella, who was convicted of petit larceny for taking money from an undercover in 2007 while assigned to Brooklyn South Narcotics Division. He's linked to three convictions.
• Michael Bergmann, who pleaded guilty to perjury in connection with a 2019 incident in which he testified falsely to a grand jury that a suspect almost ran him and his partner over with a car. Video obtained by Brooklyn prosecutors showed this didn’t happen. One conviction is linked to him.
• Jerry Bowens, who pleaded guilty to murder and falsifying business records. While assigned to Brooklyn South Narcotics Division in 2008, he gave drugs to an informant in exchange for information. While his criminal case was pending, he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in 2019, authorities said. He is linked to 134 cases.
• Richard Danese, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Staten Island after a Halloween 2007 incident in which he and his partner unlawfully imprisoned a 14-year-old boy and abandoned him in a marsh. He's linked to four cases in the requested dismissals.
• Sasha Diaz, who pleaded guilty to perjury in Manhattan for falsely testifying to a grand jury about seeing a firearm in 2014. She was also convicted in Queens for lying about observing a drug deal. She is linked to 14 convictions.
• Michael Foder, who pleaded guilty to federal perjury charges in the Eastern District of New York for testifying falsely at a 2018 hearing about when and how he conducted photo arrays of two robbery suspects in Brooklyn. Prosecutors linked 27 convictions to him that they seek to vacate.
• Richard Hall, who pleaded guilty to bribe receiving and official misconduct after he released a woman from custody in exchange for sexual favors from her in 2017. He's linked to 18 convictions.
• Sean Johnstone, who was convicted of conspiracy for paying off informants with drugs in 2007, while assigned to the Brooklyn South Narcotics Division as an undercover. Prosecutors linked him to 40 convictions that they want to vacate.
• Admir Kacamakovic, who pleaded guilty in federal court for civil rights violations after he assaulted a bar patron with pepper spray and unlawfully detained the man while in uniform in 2008. He's linked to 14 convictions.
• Eddie Martins, who pleaded guilty to bribe receiving and official misconduct after he released a woman from custody in exchange for sexual favors in 2017. He is linked to 60 convictions that prosecutors seek to dismiss.
• Oscar Sandino, who pleaded guilty to deprivation of civil rights for forcing a woman he arrested to perform oral sex in a Queens station house bathroom in 2008. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting an off-duty court officer who was in custody. Prosecutors linked 43 convictions to him that they seek to vacate.
• Henry Tavarez, who pleaded guilty for making false statements regarding a buy-and-bust operation in 2009 while assigned to Queens South Narcotics Division as an undercover. He's linked to five convictions.

(Descriptions above were provided by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.)