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Posted: 4/10/2014 12:06:20 PM EDT
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Disgraced former NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella insisted Wednesday he “did absolutely nothing wrong” in his homicide investigations — even as the Brooklyn DA revealed new information that could scuttle two more murder convictions of suspects he busted.
<snip> Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson is reviewing 50 of Scarcella’s murder investigations from the 1980s and 1990s — since David Ranta was freed in March 2013 after wrongfully spending 23 years in prison, due to a coached witness, for the slaying of a rabbi. The latest botched case involves two stepbrothers convicted of a 1985 homicide largely because of a drug- addled hooker “witness” that Scarcella had used to bolster several of his cases. The DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit sent a letter to Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic that expressed doubt over the convictions. View Quote Update 01/12/15: $17 million settlement Two Brooklyn brothers who spent decades in prison for murders they didn’t commit will reportedly received a $17 million settlement from the city.
Half-brothers Robert Hill and Alvena Jennette, both 53, were freed in May after their convictions were vacated due to the questionable investigative tactics of retired NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella. View Quote |
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials."
Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) |
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) View Quote Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 6 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Edited: Now they're saying it was 6 trials. |
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up.
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Quoted: "The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) View Quote Some people just have a knack for being around when bad things happen. |
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Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Agreed........there is a whole lot of WTF going on at both the PD and the DA's office....... |
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Quoted: This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. View Quote Exactly. That so many people see the complete ineptitude of their government in every way, but are suddenly blind to it in that one area of social justice makes my head spin. Either that or they're just fine with executing innocent people once and a while, which is worse. |
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Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. They knew. They had to. They are throwing this one guy under the bus because they can save their own asses by doing so. They all knew. They all had to know. I'm not in that profession, and even I know that the odds of someone (who isn't LE) testifying at 5 murder trials with the same arresting officer...is outlandish. |
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I lost my belief in the death penalty as soon as I started working with a DA's office. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. I lost my belief in the death penalty as soon as I started working with a DA's office. I figure it would be different for a lot of people if they saw the sausage being made. |
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Exactly. That so many people see the complete ineptitude of their government in every way, but are suddenly blind to it in that one area of social justice makes my head spin. Either that or they're just fine with executing innocent people once and a while, which is worse. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. Exactly. That so many people see the complete ineptitude of their government in every way, but are suddenly blind to it in that one area of social justice makes my head spin. Either that or they're just fine with executing innocent people once and a while, which is worse. They are. The greater good. |
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Putting that piece of shit in prison for the rest of his life would be a start.
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I figure it would be different for a lot of people if they saw the sausage being made. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. I lost my belief in the death penalty as soon as I started working with a DA's office. I figure it would be different for a lot of people if they saw the sausage being made. I've often said, as a young man I wholeheartedly supported capital punishment; then I became a cop. After seeing "the man behind the curtain," no fucking way. After being exposed to the dog and pony show that is our criminal justice system, there's no way our government should be handing out irrevocable punishment, IMO. |
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Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Maybe she wore a different wig every time. |
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Not just the police and prosecutors--none of the defense attorneys thought to ask Teresa Gomez is she had ever been a witness before?
Shouldn't a rather basic search of a database have found this out? |
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So basically asshole cop either framed people or just "knew in his gut" his suspect was guilty. Wanting to have an impressive arrest/conviction record and onvincing himself that he was doing the community a service (unless he was just a psycopath) he puts up his whore to perjure herself.
Yep, this is why i am nervouse whenever i have to encounter a cop. Maybe im nervous that he is gonna go into defcon1 if he finds out i am strapped and he interprets that my nervousness is me being guilty of the crime he is investigating... |
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Exactly. That so many people see the complete ineptitude of their government in every way, but are suddenly blind to it in that one area of social justice makes my head spin. Either that or they're just fine with executing innocent people once and a while, which is worse. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. Exactly. That so many people see the complete ineptitude of their government in every way, but are suddenly blind to it in that one area of social justice makes my head spin. Either that or they're just fine with executing innocent people once and a while, which is worse. People who are for the death penalty are either ignorant or malevolent. |
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So basically asshole cop either framed people or just "knew in his gut" his suspect was guilty. Wanting to have an impressive arrest/conviction record and onvincing himself that he was doing the community a service (unless he was just a psycopath) he puts up his whore to perjure herself. Yep, this is why i am nervouse whenever i have to encounter a cop. Maybe im nervous that he is gonna go into defcon1 if he finds out i am strapped and he interprets that my nervousness is me being guilty of the crime he is investigating... View Quote Just don't pucker your asshole in New Mexico. |
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Just don't pucker your asshole in New Mexico. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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So basically asshole cop either framed people or just "knew in his gut" his suspect was guilty. Wanting to have an impressive arrest/conviction record and onvincing himself that he was doing the community a service (unless he was just a psycopath) he puts up his whore to perjure herself. Yep, this is why i am nervouse whenever i have to encounter a cop. Maybe im nervous that he is gonna go into defcon1 if he finds out i am strapped and he interprets that my nervousness is me being guilty of the crime he is investigating... Just don't pucker your asshole in New Mexico. It's not puckering. It's furtive movements with the buttocks. |
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UPDATE
3 Murder convictions tossed out Brooklyn prosecutors will move to clear three half-brothers convicted of murder in cases that date to the 1980s and were investigated by the same now-tainted detective, sources said Monday.
The convictions of Robert Hill, Alvena Jennette and Darryl Austin will be vacated Tuesday after evidence emerged that retired NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella used the same discredited, drug-addled informant to bring all three of them down. View Quote |
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So what's the honest chances of this detective getting felony charges?
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Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. We finally found the 1 bad cop and 1 bad DA! |
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Sometimes it is hard to tell the criminals in a case .
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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We finally found the 1 bad cop and 1 bad DA! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. We finally found the 1 bad cop and 1 bad DA! I knew they'd finally get that one bad egg at the Brooklyn DA's Office. |
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Yup. I am not longer an advocate except for extraordinary cases with incontrovertible proof. And even then... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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This is the sort of thing I think about when the subject of the death penalty comes up. Yup. I am not longer an advocate except for extraordinary cases with incontrovertible proof. And even then... Pretty much... |
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Quoted: Probably the same chance as the crooked ADAs who handled the cases getting charges. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: So what's the honest chances of this detective getting felony charges? Probably the same chance as the crooked ADAs who handled the cases getting charges. A detective trots out the same "eyewitness" in multiple murder cases? C'mon, that shit does not happen without the complicity of the DA's office. Of course, once the ensuing investigation is completed, how high up the food chain do you really think it will have gone? Once people claw their way up high enough, they are insulated from the consequences of their wrongdoing. Every time the music stops, it's some flunky cop who's left without a chair... and the folks at the top all pat themselves on the back about how they "rooted out corruption". It's a joke. |
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When people wonder why I'm so cynical... this is why. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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So what's the honest chances of this detective getting felony charges? Probably the same chance as the crooked ADAs who handled the cases getting charges. Well, it's one of the reasons. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So what's the honest chances of this detective getting felony charges? Probably the same chance as the crooked ADAs who handled the cases getting charges. Well, it's one of the reasons. |
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Hey now, let's not turn this into the Dr. Phil show. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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So what's the honest chances of this detective getting felony charges? Probably the same chance as the crooked ADAs who handled the cases getting charges. Well, it's one of the reasons. Pleeeeeaaase... I would surely love to get you drunk and talking. I'd probably never sleep again, but it would be worth it. |
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By the time Thompson took office, the number of Scarcella cases under review had reached 57. There were also more than 20 other non-Scarcella potential wrongful convictions under review. The office has added more cases to the list in the months since. In all, the Conviction Review Unit is currently looking into 90 cases. View Quote This is going to be interesting. |
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Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Seriously, WTF?? Anything for a win. |
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"The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Seriously, WTF?? What? That's not normal? |
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Why would an officer/DA do this?
Dallas TX is the king of wrongful convictions it seems. I've often wondered if the folks involved with the system hung charges on the folks because they thought that they were guilty of something just as bad. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: "The letter reveals that prosecutors were reluctant to make an arrest in the case without eyewitnesses — and that’s when Scarcella turned to Teresa Gomez, who has testified in five of his trials." Wow, she just happened to be in the right place, at the right time... a lot. Luuuucky. (If this were a movie, the next scene would be an NYPD Harbor unit fishing Teresa Gomez's body out of the water.) Seriously though, no one at the DA's Office thought it was strange that this woman was an eyewitness in 5 homicide trials? Sounds like the cop isn't the only one who should be in hot water. Seriously, WTF?? What? That's not normal? |
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Quoted: If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Why would an officer/DA do this? If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. |
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And the people that they were railroading were people that no one would care about or believe. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Why would an officer/DA do this? If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. I believe GD calls them "Ghetto Goblins". |
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And the people that they were railroading were people that no one would care about or believe. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Why would an officer/DA do this? If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. Wow! And thank you both very much for the insight. |
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Brooklyn family became whole Tuesday when prosecutors dismissed murder convictions against three brothers who spent decades in prison for two separate homicides.
“I feel real good,” Louise Austin said after her sons were proclaimed innocent. All three were brought down by the same drug-addicted witness who has been used repeatedly by a now-tainted detective whose cases are under review. “It is clear that testimony from the same problematic witness undermined the integrity of these convictions, and resulted in an unfair trial for each of these defendants,” district attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a statement. In the Jennette and Austin trial, Gomez’s testimony was so bizarre, a lawyer requested urine analysis during the proceedings. To make matters worse, prosecutors had a witness who named another shooter, but his account was never turned over until it was recently uncovered in the case file. View Quote |
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Quoted: Wow! And thank you both very much for the insight. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why would an officer/DA do this? If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. Wow! And thank you both very much for the insight. |
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Quoted: Fucked up, isn't it? It takes a special kind of evil to conspire to put someone in prison for something they didn't do. IMO, it's almost worse than just outright murdering them. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why would an officer/DA do this? If you're a homicide detective you're judged on whether or not you close cases. ADAs are judged on whether or not they get convictions. If you don't do what's expected you don't move up. And the people that they were railroading were people that no one would care about or believe. Wow! And thank you both very much for the insight. Fucked up, isn't it? It takes a special kind of evil to conspire to put someone in prison for something they didn't do. IMO, it's almost worse than just outright murdering them. There's an argument for it being worse actually. Kill somebody and you take all that they are or will be in one possibly painless act. What happened here is worse, much worse. You take everything away from someone, not in an instant, but in tiny, excruciating pieces, one day at a time. These people haven't had just pieces of time taken away, but their potential, and that of everyone around them that would have been a part of their lives. Every day a new cut, another slice gone, flensed to feed the machine. |
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