Tisk, Tisk NYPD!! Seventeen New York City police officers suspected of fixing traffic tickets for family, friends and for profit have been indicted by a Bronx grand jury. Read more after the jump!!
New reports suggest officers will be arrested next week on charges including obstruction, perjury, bribery, rewarding official misconduct, and grand larceny – after a three year investigation uncovered a web of corruption within the department.Â
The officers, whose names have not been released, reportedly include union delegates, sergeants and other high-ranking department officials.Â
The officers in question are accused of accepting cash, liquor and other gifts. Hundreds more are expected to face departmental charges.
The investigation began began with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigation into officer José Ramos and his alleged ties to a drug gang.
Sources told the New York Post Ramos was caught on wiretap discussing fixing a ticket. The investigation also reportedly uncovered allegations he ripped off a drug dealer for more than $10,000 in cash.
In yet another twist, the IAB is reportedly investigating at least two other officers within its own unit, for tipping off union officials to the ticket-fixing probe.
In a tragic turn of events, earlier this month, an officer who testified before a grand jury about colleagues suspected of fixing traffic tickets reportedly tried to electrocute himself by clutching the third rail of a hot subway lineÂ
Reports suggest 30-year veteran Robert McGee, 62, was said to be distraught about being called again to take the stand at trial against his fellow officers.
McGee did not face any criminal charges and had been given immunity in the case by Bronx prosecutors.Â
About 50 officers have reportedly testified before the Bronx grand jury, although many have launched a defence against the practice of ticket-fixing.Â
Earlier this year, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the union for the NYPD’s 12,000 front-line supervisors, defended ‘the culture of extending courtesies to members and their families within the NYPD.’
