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

NEW YORK CITY — Nearly 200 misdemeanor convictions tied to crooked NYPD cops will be dismissed, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Bragg's move Thursday to vacate the convictions follows similar actions by his Brooklyn and Queens counterparts, who tossed cases tainted by discredited police officers.

Eight such former officers were linked to the 188 convictions that Bragg dismissed, he said in a statement.

“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.

Advocates have increasingly pressed New York City's district attorneys to overturn convictions based on work done by NYPD officers who have since been discredited or convicted of crimes.

Elizabeth Felber, director of The Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit, said the New Yorkers who will have convictions tossed still affected endured "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 in a statement.

All the misdemeanor arrests and convictions unfolded between 2001 and 2016, and more than half resulted in fines or jail time, officials said.

The eight officers all played significant roles in the convictions, and have since been convicted themselves of crimes related to their duties, prosecutors said.

Those former cops are, according to information provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office:

• Jason Arbeeny, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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.

Related coverage:

• Brooklyn DA To Toss Nearly 400 Convictions Linked To Crooked NYPD Cops
• Queens DA Asks Courts To Vacate 60 Cases After Cops Convicted