Accused dishonest NYPD cop Joseph Franco is just ‘doing his job,’ says defense attorney

A former undercover NYPD detective accused of framing innocent people by lying about seeing them dealing drugs was just “doing his job,” his lawyer said during opening statements at the Manhattan trial on Thursday.

Joseph Franco, fired in May 2020 following a departmental trial, is charged with making false statements, misconduct and other charges for allegedly falsely claiming he saw three drug deals occur between 2017 and 2018 .

“Today we live in a society where it’s very easy to criticize the police,” Howard Tanner, Franco’s attorney, told jurors on Thursday.

“Joe will stand trial for doing his job,” Tanner said. “Second suggestion, Monday morning defense attorney for the overzealous DA that deals with the police – I have to tell you ladies and gentlemen, this is wrong.”

The disgraced former cop, a 19-year police veteran, was assigned to the South Manhattan narcotics department when he arrested four people for drug dealing in separate cases, claiming to have watched every illegal exchange.

Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the case will focus on some of the defendants who pleaded guilty to avoid longer prison sentences despite being innocent because they were allegedly framed by a rogue cop.

“This case concerns former NYPD Detective Joseph Franco and the lies he told in the line of duty that contributed to the wrongful arrest, indictment, conviction, and detention of the very New Yorkers he was charged with protecting and serving.” , said the county assistant. Lawyer Samantha Drorken.

Franco “repeatedly stated that he observed people swapping items with each other, a term commonly used by drug detectives to describe a drug sale between two people,” Dorken told jurors.

But the video evidence will prove that “in fact, Franco did not see and could not see what he said he saw.”

“In each case, he lied to his fellow officers, prosecutors, in official documents and under oath in grand jury affidavits,” Drorken alleged.

“This is not a mistake, this is a pattern,” she continued.

Since his indictment in 2019, city prosecutors, including those in Brooklyn and the Bronx, have dropped dozens of cases based on Franco’s testimony.

Franco pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

Content Source

News Press Ohio – Latest News:
Columbus Local News || Cleveland Local News || Ohio State News || National News || Money and Economy News || Entertainment News || Tech News || Environment News

Related Articles

Back to top button