Newsletter16

I am pleased with the way New York City is handling the
drinking situation. Cops the world over have a hard enough
time, without being tainted by a few. I am happy that they
even named the ones who were drinking. Can you imagine what
it is like to have everyone look at you and wonder if you
were involved, because of the �CODE of the Blue Wall?�
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NEW YORK (AP) An NYPD investigation into the actions of...
By Donna De La Cruz, Associated Press, 8/8/2001 21:41
NEW YORK (AP) An NYPD investigation into the actions of an
officer who allegedly killed four members of a Brooklyn
family while driving drunk has led to 17 of his colleagues
either being transferred, suspended without pay or placed
on modified duty, Commissioner Bernard Kerik announced
Wednesday. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who joined Kerik at a
press conference, said one of many reasons for the
disciplinary actions was ''to send a very clear message
that drinking and being a police officer is a very dangerous
combination.''
Officer Joseph Gray had a blood alcohol content of .16, well
above the legal limit of .10, when the accident occurred
Saturday night. Killed in the accident were Maria Herrera,
24, her 4-year-old son Andy Herrera, and her 16-year-old
sister Dilcia Pena. Herrera's eight-month-old fetus was
delivered by Caesarean section, but later died.
Police have since discovered that Gray and nine other
officers from the 72nd Precinct began drinking shortly
after their shift ended about 8 a.m. in a police parking
lot next to the precinct building, Kerik said. A police
source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
officers drank there until about 10 a.m.
Gray and four of his colleagues were later spotted at a
"corruption-prone" strip club declared off-limits to
officers in the 72nd Precinct, Kerik said.
Gray, who was suspended from the force immediately
following the accident, has been charged with multiple
counts of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other
offenses.
Five officers were transferred: the precinct commander,
Capt. Thomas DePrisco; the executive officer, Capt. Roy
Richter; the integrity control officer, Lt. Ricky Karpen;
and two sergeants Peter Moy and Michael Zarrilli both of
whom were on duty during the day shift Saturday.
Kerik didn't say where the officers had been transferred.
Four officers who allegedly drank with Gray at the Wild Wild
West were suspended. They are Sgt. Dennis Healy and Officers
Jack Conway, Craig Hildebrand and John Welsh. Welsh was
recently reassigned to Brooklyn's 67th Precinct from the 72nd.
Nine officers were allegedly drinking with Gray in the parking
lot, including Healy and another sergeant, Keith Singer.
Singer was also suspended. The seven others were placed on modified
duty; meaning their guns and badges were taken away and they
were reassigned to desk duty. They were identified as:
Officers Edward Sills; Anthony Prisenzano; Michael Gaudio;
Marie Desario; Paul Alba; John Chavez; and Michael McGill.
The disciplinary measures take effect at midnight Wednesday.
Deputy Inspector Michael Quinn of Brooklyn's 83rd Precinct
has been assigned to take over the 72nd Precinct, effective
Thursday. Kerik said he transferred DePrisco because, given the
findings of the investigation, he questioned the commander's
skills as a supervisor. Giuliani added: ''The reason for transferring the commanding officer is that the core to reducing crime in New York City has been accountability. People are accountable for what
happens under their command.''
Gray, 40, has been silent as to his exact whereabouts the
day of the accident. Gray's attorney, Stephen Worth, did
not return telephone messages left at his office seeking
comment. But Gray, a 15-year veteran has admitted he had
been drinking before the accident.
Meanwhile, the victims' families attended a wake just a few
blocks from the site of the accident. Their funerals were
scheduled for Thursday.
Bishop Gregorio Nicanor Pena Rodriguez, the uncle of Herrera
and Pena, was to say the Mass. Like the victims, Rodriguez
is from the Dominican Republic.
A line stretched around the corner of the Brooklyn funeral
home. Among the mourners was Giuliani and attorney Johnnie
Cochran, who refused to say whether the family had hired
him to represent them. ''We just came from a scene that is
incomprehensible just seeing this family totally destroyed
and wiped out,'' Cochran said.
Elvis Pena, a cousin to Herrera and Pena and an auxiliary
police officer at the 72nd Precinct, told reporters he has
seen Gray a few times at the precinct but doesn't really know him.
"Don't blame the police department, just blame the one
guy," Pena said.
Associated Press Writer Chaka Ferguson contributed to this
report.
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I am pleased that other hard working public servants won�t be dragged down with these few.

JBS