Another DWI scandal involving NYC Police (New York, Ramapo: felony, attorney, inspector)

[Mistertee]

Cop's drunk driving trial delayed again
By Graham Kates


Nearly eight months after retired police union trustee James Finnegan was collared for drunk driving in Kingsbridge, there’s still no trial date in sight.

Mr. Finnegan appeared in Bronx Criminal Court on Monday, only to be told to return on Wednesday, Oct. 12, to find out when his trial will begin.

“The ADA in charge of that case, Michael Fraggetta, is actually on vacation right now,” a representative of the Bronx District Attorney’s office said.

Mr. Finnegan’s case has been marked by a series of unusual delays from the very beginning.

In the hours after Mr. Finnegan, a retired police union trustee, was charged with drunk driving in Kingsbridge on Jan. 24, Police Benevolent Association representatives made calls to the 50th Precinct command and a PBA trustee contacted a supervisor in the Bronx on the driver’s behalf.

The calls may have netted Mr. Finnegan treatment by the police that the Bronx District Attorney’s office called “contrary to procedure” in June.

After 50th Precinct police officers determined the former PBA trustee was drunk when he was found parked in front of the Mei Chung Mei restaurant at 157 W. 231 St. around 9:40 p.m., Mr. Finnegan refused a Breathalyzer test and was charged with driving with impaired ability and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

“He should have been arrested and processed,” Steven Reed, a representative of the Bronx District Attorney’s office said in June. It is standard protocol for suspects to be brought to Central Booking and arraigned once they turn down a Breathalyzer test.

Instead, Mr. Finnegan was issued a desk appearance ticket, which meant he didn’t have to post bail and wasn’t formally charged until weeks later, on March 14.

Most suspected drunk drivers who turn down Breathalyzers have their licenses revoked for up to a year, according to a Department of Motor Vehicles source.

Mr. Finnegan’s license was suspended for just 15 days after his arresting officer failed to appear at a Traffic Violations Bureau hearing in April.


It’s unclear what led to the unusual treatment, but a police source said that Joseph Anthony, a current Police Benevolent Association trustee and former 50th Precinct delegate, communicated with a supervisor in the Bronx that night.

PBA representatives also made calls to the 50th Precinct the night of Mr. Finnegan’s arrest, according to the police source.

News reports about a different DWI case have called Mr. Anthony one of the PBA’s go-to guys for ticket fixing. In that case, the reports said that Mr. Anthony was caught on wiretaps discussing a highway patrolman’s ticket-fix request on several occasions.

A grand jury convened to investigate allegations of widespread ticket fixing in the Bronx is currently hearing testimony and is expected to hand down indictments later this year.

Tickets from all 12 Bronx precincts were subpoenaed about 10 months ago after Deputy Inspector John D’Adamo, former commander of the 50th Precinct and commander of the 52nd Precinct at the time, was accused of fixing parking tickets.

The investigation came to light in April when prosecutors, in an unrelated drunk driving case before a Bronx grand jury, revealed wiretapped recordings of Bronx cop Julissa Goris getting union delegates to fix two summonses.

The PBA has said little about any role its representatives had in the aftermath of Mr. Finnegan’s arrest.

Mr. Finnegan is being represented in court by Stuart London, a PBA lawyer, who has been involved in high profile New York police trials, ranging from the Abner Louima assault more than a decade ago to the recent Brooklyn trial of three officers accused of sodomizing a man in a subway station.

Albert O’Leary, the PBA spokesman, said in June that the union does not provide counsel for retired cops and Mr. Finnegan sought Mr. London’s counsel on his own.

[Honey-NY]

Sloatsburg judge Newman charged with DWI after accident | The Journal News | LoHud.com | LoHud.com

RAMAPO — Longtime Sloatsburg Justice Thomas J. Newman Jr. will lose his driver's license for a year after refusing to take a sobriety test when charged with drunken driving.
Newman, however, can continue to sit on the bench and in judgment of other drivers accused of drivingwhileintoxicated, authorities said Wednesday.

Even if Newman is convicted of misdemeanor DWI or a lesser charge, he will not lose his judgeship. That can occur only with a felony conviction.
Newman, 56, an elected Sloatsburg judge since 1992 and an acting judge since 1980, was charged with driving while intoxicated at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Ramapo police said.

After getting off the New York State Thruway at the Sloatsburg-Hillburn Exit 15A, Newman drove his 2006 Toyota into the rear of a 2010 Toyota on Route 17 south, police said.

No one was injured, but police were called to the scene. After investigating and talking to Newman and the other driver, Oscar E. Padilla, 60, of Sloatsburg, and his wife, Newman was charged.
He refused to take a field breath test, a traffic infraction and automatic license suspension. He also received a traffic summons alleging following too close.

Newman was released without bail for a Ramapo Town Court hearing Aug. 25. He voluntarily went to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, police said.
Newman didn't return a telephone call to his lawoffice for comment Wednesday.

[Mistertee]

These scumbags refuse to take a sobriety test because they know the law so well. By refusing to take part they cannot be convicted of a DWI.