by Tina Kelley, New York Times
One of the highest-ranking New York City police officials ever indicted in a drug corruption case was fired yesterday, the authorities said last night.
The official, Dennis M. Sindone, 40, was a deputy inspector when he was arrested in May 2001 on a drug-related corruption charge, and was demoted to captain. He was acquitted by a federal jury in March, but still faced the possibility of departmental charges.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly dismissed Mr. Sindone based on findings from a departmental judge, said Deputy Commissioner Michael P. O’Looney, the department’s chief spokesman.
Mr. Sindone was accused of conspiring with a fellow officer and a drug dealer to steal $60,000 from a drug supplier in 1996. He was charged with one count of violating the civil rights of the drug supplier whose money was stolen.
Mr. Sindone’s lawyer, James Culleton, told The Associated Press that the departmental judge, Rae Koshetz, had relied on the word of an admittedly crooked cop and a drug dealer.
“It’s a shame. To say we’re disappointed is an understatement,” said Mr. Culleton, who added that his client was a month away from being able to retire with a pension after 20 years on the force. “They should at least have let him retire.”
In Mr. Sindone’s federal trial, the prosecution’s case was based heavily on the testimony of Robert Noyer, a former police officer who said he and Captain Sindone had committed the robbery together.
Mr. Noyer said the two men pretended to arrest Jose Tavares, a drug dealer with whom Mr. Noyer was friendly, just as Mr. Tavares was about to deliver cash to a drug supplier on July 2, 1996. With bystanders watching, the two officers handcuffed the dealer and drove off with him in a police car, Mr. Noyer testified, adding that they then uncuffed and released him and divided the money.