Six cops charged with robbery, kidnapping, extortion
By Jeremy Roebuck Mark Fazlollah and Aubrey Whelan, The Philadelphia Inquirer | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
That changed Wednesday, as federal prosecutors unveiled a sprawling racketeering conspiracy case against six of the unit's former members. The charges paint them as rogue cops running roughshod over the rights of their targets, confident that few would believe anyone who dared complain.
As the years went on, the 26-count indictment against them suggests, Officers
Between
Targets who resisted, prosecutors say, were dangled over balconies, threatened with the seizure of their homes, held in dank hotel rooms for days or brutally beaten as the officers kept score on who could inflict the most debilitating injuries.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Police Commissioner
"Words just don't describe the degree to which their acts have brought discredit," he said. He blamed the city's contract with its officers for his inability to transfer the six years earlier despite suspicions that emerged as early as 2005.
Their arrests, during predawn raids Wednesday, now threaten to throw dozens of their past cases into doubt and reopen a pipeline of civil rights lawsuits from suspects they arrested that has already cost the city at least
The District Attorney's office has sought the dismissal of hundreds of cases so far tied to the six indicted officers.
"Our clients have been waiting for this day for some time now," said
Lawyers for the six officers denied the allegations against their clients at an initial appearance in federal court Wednesday. All of the officers entered not guilty pleas to charges including racketeering conspiracy, civil rights violations, robbery and extortion and were ordered held without bond pending a hearing scheduled for Monday.
Prosecutors said they will seek to hold the officers until trial, calling them flight risks and dangers to their community.
"My client is a good, decent family man, presumed innocent by law," said
Some of those arrested Wednesday have been fighting similar allegations for years. Ramsey benched four of the officers in 2012 amid the widening federal investigation.
As far back as 2005, others had raised concerns.
Federal and city prosecutors had for years refused to take cases involving some of the six, saying that frequent complaints lodged against them undermined their credibility in court.
A lawyer representing an accused drug dealer specifically raised concerns in
Two years later, the
Meanwhile, despite more than 14 Internal Affairs complaints against the Liciardello and Reynolds alleging illegal searches or false arrests, nearly all were found to be unsubstantiated.
In the midst of the scrutiny, Liciardello, Reynolds and a third member of the unit,
Pileggi's insurance company settled the case for a relatively small sum. But in an interview Wednesday, the lawyer said all of the allegations in his client's lawsuits "came to fruition [in the federal case] -- beating up, false arrests, stealing."
Though the group had dodged past allegations, the key to unlocking the current case came from one of their own, law enforcement sources said.
Officer
He told a federal judge he planted nearly 28 grams of cocaine in a
But in the months after his arrest, Walker identified dozens of other incidents involving his former colleagues, which federal investigators used as to build their case, authorities said.
They include a
Walker told authorities that Liciardello ordered him and his partner, Norman, to do whatever it took to get a password to the man's Palm Pilot, so Norman hoisted him over an 18th floor balcony until he gave in.
Other officers stole more than
Though court filings Wednesday identified the group's alleged targets only by initials, several have previously spoken out about their run-ins with the narcotics officers.
According to Wednesday's indictment, Liciardello reported less than
He has since sued the officers and accused them of planting methamphetamine in his shop to justify their assault. All charges against him were later dropped.
He has since sued the officers, saying Liciardello, Reynolds and Spicer illegally raided his
Prosecutors said Wednesday the crew only reported
Over the course of seven years, authorities say, the crew, led by Liciardello, plundered Rolexes, iPods, a
"That many of the victims were drug dealers, not
Ramsey suspended the six officers Wednesday for 30 days with intent to dismiss.
If convicted on all counts, all of the officers except Speiser face up to life in prison. For Speiser, the maximum term is 40 years.
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