![]() They reveal that precinct bosses threaten street cops if they don’t make their quotas of arrests and stop-and-frisks, but also tell them not to take certain robbery reports in order to manipulate crime statistics. Made without the knowledge or approval of the NYPD, the tapes-made between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009, in the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant and obtained exclusively by the Voice-provide an unprecedented portrait of what it’s like to work as a cop in this city. ![]() In all, he surreptitiously collected hundreds of hours of cops talking about their jobs. He recorded small talk and stationhouse banter. He recorded his precinct commander and other supervisors. To document his concerns, he began carrying around a digital sound recorder, secretly recording his colleagues and superiors. * Union officials say that fixing tickets has been part of the NYPD culture and has been widely accepted among department brass.Two years ago, a police officer in a Brooklyn precinct became gravely concerned about how the public was being served. * Up to 400 cops may face departmental charges, and up to 40 may face criminal charges. * Cops allegedly accepted cash, liquor and other gifts - possibly tickets to sporting events and meals at pricey restaurants. * Internal Affairs investigators use wiretaps to catch union officials talking about fixing tickets. * In 2008, a druginvestigation wiretap reveals that dirty Bronx cop José Ramos had a ticket fixed, leading to a wider probe of the shady police practice. The plum honor includes a badge and ID card.Īnatomy of the ticket-fixing scandal that has rocked the NYPD and could lead to a slew of arrests and departmental charges. Honorary deputy police commissioners are civilians who've given money or benefits to the department or its charities. "He's on a first-name basis with all police brass." "Al's always there during the good times and bad, at funerals, fundraisers and celebrations," the source said. I don't know what you're talking about," said the businessman, who was head of the honorary deputy police commissioners foundation. Thompson, who falsely claims he is the brother of former Comptroller Bill Thompson, played dumb when confronted outside his Harlem brownstone last night. "I have been on the job for nearly three decades, and it was never deemed unusual to get calls from high-ranking department members when a summons was given to their family member or friends," said Edward Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. If found guilty, they could be fired, lose benefits or be reprimanded.Īnd Bronx DA Robert Johnson has convened a grand jury that is weighing criminal charges against another 40 officers accused of taking bribes for fixing tickets for relatives and friends.Īt least one Yankee executive saw his ticket go away, The Post has learned. Police conversations about this ticket-fix incident were later caught on wiretaps set up as part of the larger probe that began in 2008.Ī source said the example proves that the fixing epidemic "is not a union issue, it is a job issue coming from all ranks, even much higher than sergeant."Īs many as 400 cops - most of them assigned to 12 Bronx precincts - could face departmental charges for allegedly fixing tickets. It's unclear what happened to the rookies, who spilled details of the plan to the IAB investigators. When the unidentified chief learned of the plot, he said he'd never heard of Thompson - and Hickman was yanked from his cushy post at Bronx Borough headquarters near Crotona Park to the 41st Precinct near crime-ridden Hunts Point. "A sergeant comes up and says, 'Can I help you?' and they say they're there to take care of this ticket, and the sergeant says, 'What?' and he reports them to IAB," the source said. That officer would then make up an excuse to the judge why the ticket should be voided, and the problem would be solved.īut the plan quickly unraveled when the cops sent to the courtroom started wandering around like lost puppies and drew the attention of a sergeant who was not in on the scheme. "He told them to go down to traffic court and see officer so-and-so and have him take care of the ticket and say it's for the chief so-and-so," a source said. Hickman found out the ticket was already being heard in Bronx traffic court, and allegedly dispatched two rookies to take care of the problem. Keshawn Hickman, saying he needed to get rid of a moving violation. NY ticket fixing probe spreads to highway copsĮarly last year, police-connected businessman Albert Thompson - who shares his deputy-commish title with celebs like Donald Trump and rubs shoulders with top brass, including Commissioner Ray Kelly - called his buddy, Sgt.
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