MP3 recording results in perjury charges against NYPD detective
NEW YORK - A teen suspect’s snap decision to secretly record his interrogation with an MP3 player has resulted in a perjury case against a veteran detective and a plea deal for himself, authorities said Thursday.
Unaware of the recording, Detective Christopher Perino insisted under oath at a trial in April that suspect Erik Crespo “wasn’t questioned” about a shooting in the Bronx, a criminal complaint said. But the defense confronted the detective with a transcript it said proved he had spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to persuade Crespo to confess _ at times with vulgar tactics.
“You don’t want to give a statement _ I don’t give a (expletive),” Perino said, according to the transcript. “But just remember I’m never gonna have your side of the story when I walk into a court of law
Without the statement, the detective warned, the court would rely on security video and the victim’s version of the shooting.
“He’s the victim,” said the detective, a 19-year veteran. “He’s a scumbag, but he’s the victim. You following me? He can go up there … and tell them whatever the (expletive) he wants to tell them.”
Perino, 42, was arraigned Thursday on 12 counts of first-degree perjury and faces up to seven years on each count, prosecutors said. He was released on $15,000 bail.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment Thursday. A New York Police Department spokesman declined to comment.
The allegations “put the safety of all law-abiding citizens at risk because they undermine the integrity and foundation of the entire criminal justice system,” District Attorney Robert Johnson said in a statement.
Perino arrested Crespo, then 17, on New Year’s Eve 2005 while investigating the shooting of a man in an elevator. Defense attorney Mark DeMarco said that after his client was taken into the interrogation room of the 44th Precinct stationhouse, he stealthily pressed the record button on his the MP3 player, a Christmas gift.
After Crespo was charged with attempted murder, his family surprised DeMarco by playing him the recording.
“I couldn’t believe my ears,” said the lawyer, who decided to keep the recording under wraps until he cross-examined Perino at the trial.
Once the transcript was revealed, prosecutors asked for a recess, DeMarco said. The detective was pulled from the witness stand and was advised to get a lawyer.
Prosecutors returned to offer Crespo _ who had turned down a deal for a 15-year prison term and faced up to 25 years if convicted _ seven years if he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.
He accepted.
SOURCE: Newsday
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