Tag: nypd

NYPD detective Louis Scarcella dubbed ‘the closer’ is accused of rigging DOZENS of murder cases and costing taxpayers $110 MILLION in settlements to wrongly-convicted prisoners

A retired NYPD detective accused of rigging dozens of murder cases has cost taxpayers $110million in settlements from 14 overturned convictions.

Louis N. Scarcella, known to colleagues as ‘the closer,’ allegedly coerced confessions and made up witness testimony to help secure convictions leading to people spending decades locked up before being exonerated.

The cost to the taxpayer has been colossal. New York City has paid $73.1 million in settlements to people investigated by the former detective, and the state has paid out another $36.9 million, according to The New York Times. 

The city is expected to be on the hook for tens of millions more, as three men cleared last year of burning a subway token clerk alive in 1995 have filed lawsuits. 

A second-generation cop who smoked cigars, ran marathons, worked a side job at a Coney Island amusement park and jokingly put ‘adventurer’ on his business card, Scarcella, now 72, worked in the Brooklyn North homicide squad during the crack epidemic of the eighties and nineties.

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Neo-Nazi Maniac Who Planned to Shoot Up Synagogue Was Given His Guns by Law Enforcement

Former U.S. Marine Matthew Belanger is a maniacal psychopath who reportedly belonged to a Neo-Nazi group called “Rapekrieg” which planned to carry out a mass shooting on a Synagogue. Kicked out of the Marine Corps over his affiliation with Neo-Nazis, Belanger was barred from purchasing firearms but that didn’t stop him from obtaining two of them.

Fortunately, Belanger was outed by a fellow member of the “Rapekrieg” group before he was able to commit mass murder. However, the details surrounding his case lay the groundwork for wild conspiracy theories — especially since it was a New York police officer who supplied Belanger with the guns to carry out the shooting.

An explosive article in Rolling Stone lays out Belanger’s story in shocking detail, up to and including the mission of the Rapekrieg Neo-Nazi group in which Belanger was a member and author of the group’s manifesto.

According to court documents, reported on by Rolling Stone, while he was in the Marine Corps, Belanger was plotting a killing spree against minorities and to rape “white women to increase the production of white children,” according to federal prosecutors.

In a July 14 court memo, federal prosecutors say that while a Marine, Belanger plotted far more serious crimes as part of the neo-Nazi group. The memo says Belanger trained with airsoft guns in the woods of Long Island as part of a plot to attack the “Zionist Order of Governments.” The memo also says Belanger was the subject of an FBI Joint Terrorism Taskforce investigation into allegedly plotting to “engage in widespread homicide and sexual assault.” Much of Belanger’s ideology and plotting, the memo says, is based around a desire to lessen the number of nonwhite Americans and to rape “white women to increase the production of white children.”

One would think that pursuing the mission of raping white women and murdering minorities would set off red flags for law enforcement and one would be right. Belanger was well known to law enforcement, according to court documents, but that didn’t stop law enforcement from illegally arming the racist Marine.

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NYPD Police Union President Arrested for Stealing Over $1 Million from Fellow Cops in Lowlife Scheme

Nothing says “culture of corruption” quite like cops committing crimes against their fellow cops. And, perhaps nothing highlights this point better than one of the highest ranking cops in the country waging an elaborate scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from his fellow officers.

This week, Edward Mullins, the former President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (“SBA”), the union that represents all current and former Sergeants of the New York City Police Department, was charged for fraudulently using union funds for personal gain.

On Wednesday, Mullins turned himself in to the FBI and was charged with one count of wire fraud in connection with his despicable scheme. Mullins’ scheme involved using police union funds to live a lavish lifestyle at the expense of his fellow officers.

After his arrest, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Edward Mullins, the former President of the SBA, abused his position of trust and authority to fund a lavish lifestyle that was paid for by the monthly dues of the thousands of hard-working Sergeants of the NYPD.

“Mullins submitted hundreds of phony expense reports to further his scheme, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA.  This Office is committed to rooting out corruption at all levels of government, and that includes public officials like Mullins who use their positions of power to line their own pockets to the detriment of others.”

According to the Department of Justice, for nearly two decades, from 2002 until October 2021, Mullins served as President of the SBA. As president Mullins was responsible for for promoting the general welfare of the SBA’s membership. Instead of doing that, however, this top cop “orchestrated a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA and its members.”

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NYPD Cop’s Deathbed Confession Implicates FBI and NYPD in the Assassination of Malcom X

Last month marked the 56th anniversary of the assassination of Malcom X. Since that fateful day back in 1965, controversy has swarmed the case with conspiracy theories abounding. The official story happens to be one of the most flawed versions.

According to the official story, Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little in 1925, was assassinated by rival Black Muslims on February 21, 1965 while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

Three members of the Nation of Islam (NOI) — Talmadge Hayer or Thomas Hagan (a.k.a Mujahid Abdul Halim), Norman Butler (a.k.a Muhammad Abdul Aziz) and Thomas Johnson (a.k.a Khalil Islam) — were convicted of his murder in 1966 — despite glaring inconsistencies in the case.

Officials at the time of his murder claimed Malcolm’s assassination was the result of an ongoing dispute between him and the NOI. Though Malcolm had left the group in 1964 on bad terms, Butler (Aziz) and Johnson (Islam) have consistently professed their innocence, and scholars who have studied the case have raised doubts about the killing’s circumstances.

What’s more, there was no evidence linking Butler or Johnson to the crime. Butler even had an alibi for the time of the murder: He was at home resting after injuring his leg. This was backed up by a doctor who had treated him and who took the stand during the trial. Nonetheless, all three men were found guilty in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison. Case closed.

Following the release of a Netflix documentary series last year, that delved into these doubts, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced that his office was going to review the case. Little has come from this investigation and it looked like more lip service from officials.

Then, last week, a letter was released, reportedly written by Ray Wood who was an undercover police officer at the time. Wood’s attorney and family claim Wood wrote the letter on his deathbed confessing the NYPD and the FBI conspired to kill Malcolm X.

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MALCOLM X’S FAMILY Claim New Letter Reveals NYPD, FBI CONSPIRED IN HIS MURDER

Malcolm X‘s surviving family members are demanding his murder case be reopened after claiming they now have a letter that ropes the NYPD and FBI directly into his death.

The late civil rights leader’s three daughters spoke out at a news conference this weekend, asking the Manhattan D.A. to re-open the case and take a hard look at new evidence they claim to have … which alleges a conspiracy at the highest levels.

It’s a letter written by a former NYPD officer, Raymond Wood, who often worked undercover … and who purportedly confessed on his death bed he had been instructed by his bosses to get some of Malcolm’s security guards arrested in the days leading up to his assassination.

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NYPD Deploys Counter Terrorism Unit To Protect Wall Street in Response To Gamestop Protests

The Charging Bull statue in Manhattan’s Financial District has become the sight of protests amid a wider financial rebellion happening online. On Friday, a handful of activists were seen in Bowling Green Park, posing with the bull, and holding signs that said “Tax Wall Street Trades.” A thin band of tape was also placed on the statue’s head and rear end, featuring slogans like “Hold the line” and “WSB” — both allusions to the GameStop insurrection against hedge funds organized by Reddit’s “Wall Street Bets” community. A similar fate befell the new Fearless Girl statue, which faces the New York Stock Exchange building. Both the bull and the girl are meant to symbolize the power, bravery and daring of the city’s financial traders.

In response, the New York Police Department (NYPD) mobilized its anti-terrorism unit, sending masked, blad clad police officers wearing armor and carrying assault rifles to protect and secure the area. “The Stock Market has had an interesting week to say the least. We are happy to report that the Wall Street Charging Bull is secure and continues to preside over Bowling Green for the foreseeable future,” it announced. The bull was covered in a blue tarp to prevent further vandalism.

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NYPD DISAPPEARED BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERS INTO DETENTION FOR DAYS AT A TIME. LAWMAKERS WANT TO END THE PRACTICE.

IN EARLY JUNE, hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters languished for days in cramped New York City jail cells. Stuck in holding pens without masks and exposed to soiled conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, they were unable to reach loved ones or lawyers. The protesters were effectively disappeared into New York City’s detention system.

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Lawsuits Against NYPD Cost Taxpayers $230 Million Last Year

New York City taxpayers are stuck with a $230 million bill for the thousands of lawsuits against the NYPD that the city settled in the last fiscal year, according to a report released this week by Comptroller Scott Stringer.

The annual claims report found that the majority of suits against the department were related to improper police conduct, including excessive force and false arrests. While the number of claims against the NYPD has remained stable—there were 6,472 actions last year, compared to 6,546 in 2017—total payouts have decreased significantly from last year’s high of $335.5 million.

The Comptroller’s report noted that five wrongful conviction suits accounted for $33 million of this past year’s payouts. Four out of five of those claims involved people who spent decades in prison before their sentences were vacated by the late Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson’s Conviction Integrity Unit. Their settlements ranged from $1.5 million for Paul Gatling, who was exonerated at the age of 81, to $12.3 million for Andre Hatchett, who spent 25 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

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