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The mushrooming NYPD narcotics squad scandal has compromised more than 150 criminal cases in Brooklyn and could put drug dealers back on the streets, sources told the Daily News. The stunning fallout of the corruption scandal emerged as sources revealed that a crack addict has told investigators she had sex with one of the arrested cops. The junkie claims she had sex with Officer Jerry Bowens, 41, a member of the Brooklyn South narcotics unit where 20 cops were benched over charges of taking sex, drugs and cash from addicts and dealers. The News detailed the corrupt cowboy culture, and the sweeping reforms to the NYPD Narcotics Division imposed by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, in a front-page exclusive Tuesday. The scandal's greatest fallout involves criminal cases against drug dealers brought by the cops of the unit. More than 150 cases are under review by the Brooklyn district attorney's office. The cases could be dismissed because in the buy-and-bust operations the undercover cops involved typically are the only prosecution witnesses. "Defense attorneys could make mincemeat out of a cop on the [witness] stand if the cop was involved in this mess," said a source close to the investigation. "And it could force old cases to be reopened, examined and thrown out as well even if the arrests were good." The junkie who claims she had sex with Bowens told Internal Affairs Bureau investigators the encounter was consensual, but she told her family she was raped. Bowens was charged with official misconduct, sources said. Bowens, who also was charged with falsifying records and narcotics possession, could not be reached for comment. In the scandal, four cops from the unit were arrested, one suspended and 15 others put on desk duty in the past month amid allegations that cops were stealing seized drugs to pay off informants, having sex with informants and stealing cash from drug dealers to pay off tipsters. "I have full confidence in the ability and the integrity of the Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD and we're working very closely with them," Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said. He declined to discuss details of the probe. The corruption came to light when a Brooklyn South undercover detective was caught on his own wire bragging about seizing 28 bags of drugs and turning in only 17. He allegedly gave the other bags to informants. Detective Sean Johnstone, 34, was caught on the tape recording last September and was one of four cops arrested. A fifth was suspended and could face criminal charges. No evidence has surfaced so far to implicate any cops with taking money or drugs for personal use. "It's a way to cut corners, giving drugs to a [confidential informant]," said a police source who served with one of the four busted cops. 'Give Your Guys Drugs'Undercover cops are allowed to pay snitches, known as confidential informants, but have to go through a lengthy vetting and paperwork process to do so. "The department doesn't have a lot of money to pay out. So it's quicker and you can get better information if you give your guys drugs," the source said. "It's cheating, but it's a lot more common than the department wants to admit." On Monday, Kelly reshuffled the city narcotics brass, replacing the citywide narcotics commander, Deputy Chief James O'Neill, with Deputy Chief Joseph Reznick. Kelly also transferred the head of Brooklyn South Narcotics, Inspector James O'Connell, and two captains. It's not the first time Kelly has reshuffled the top brass overseeing narcotics investigations. O'Neill, a 24-year veteran, was handpicked by Kelly nearly three years ago to help curb the cowboy culture in the NYPD's Organized Crime and Control Bureau, which oversees the Narcotics Division. An internal review of the bureau in December 2004 found the quality of staff dipped when it went from an elite group of about 1,500 cops to more than 4,300 officers. The result "was a significant infusion of unqualified, inexperienced personnel who lacked the dedication and drive essential to a highly specialized unit," the December report stated. Sources said Reznick is a strong personality in the NYPD. He butted heads with detectives when he worked in the Bronx. Several investigators resigned or asked for transfers rather than work with Reznick, the sources said. "Reznick's personal skills are lacking," a police source said. "But even detectives who hate him said if they were murdered, they'd want him overseeing their case." |
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