a former New York The city’s narcotics detective went on trial Thursday over allegations that he lied about witnessing drug deals — allegations that have prompted hundreds of drug convictions to be dismissed.
Prosecutors say the video contradicts many of Joseph Franco’s claims of witnessing illegal drug sales. His attorney says the former detective may have concealed some details about witnessing the alleged transaction, but did not intentionally lie, and the attorney says the video does not prove otherwise.
Franco worked for the New York Police Department for almost 20 years as of 2020. he was accused manhattan In 2019 he pleaded not guilty to further perjury and other offenses.
The charges cover a handful of cases, but the allegations have inspired prosecutors BrooklynManhattan and Bronx For hundreds of convictions in cases involving Franco. Prosecutors did not say whether they had found evidence that he lied in those cases, but said they could not rely on his work.
In opening statements at the trial on Thursday, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Samantha Dvorken said some people end up behind bars based on Franco’s alleged lies.
“It wasn’t a mistake. It was a pattern,” Dworken said.
While some of the suspects did indeed sell or take drugs, “their lies were a poison that tainted any fair or legitimate case that could be made against them,” she told jurors.
Franco’s attorney, Howard Tanner, said that Franco was dedicated to trying to get drugs off the streets. Tanner said he could not have taken notes or made recordings while under surveillance and may have been inaccurate at times, but “that still doesn’t make it a crime.”
“Joe is on trial for doing his job,” Tanner said in his opening. He described the case as “second-guessing, Monday morning quarterbacking by an overzealous district attorney’s office.”