NYPD OFFICER INDICTED FOR FALSIFYING RECORDS
Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the indictment of New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer ISAIAS ALICEA, 28, for falsifying paperwork to conceal his involvement in the unlawful search and arrest of a Manhattan man last year. The defendant is charged in New York State Supreme Court with ten counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and two counts of Official Misconduct. [1]
“We rightfully trust our police officers to report their activities truthfully. Those who do not erode the public’s trust in law enforcement,” said District Attorney Vance. “To falsely accuse anyone of a drug sale is not only unacceptable, it is a crime.”
According to documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court, ALICEA joined the NYPD in 2006. On February 19, 2012, ALICEA stopped two men in the lobby of 545 West 126th Street, a residential building that is part of the Manhattanville Houses. The defendant arrested both of the men, and when questioned by supervisors and an Assistant District Attorney about the stop, claimed that he observed the two men engaging in a drug transaction inside the West Harlem public housing development. The defendant also filed false paperwork describing the arrest.
Contrary to those statements, surveillance video revealed that no illegal exchange had occurred, and the men never came in contact with each other inside the lobby. ALICEA also searched the mailbox of one of the men, who was a tenant in the building, without authorization. Because of ALICEA’s conduct, the drug sale case was dismissed.
At the time of the incident, ALICEA was assigned to PSA 6 in northern Manhattan. Officers assigned to PSA 6, which is part of the NYPD’s Housing Bureau, are responsible for patrolling public housing complexes and providing for the safety of building employees, residents, and their guests.
Assistant District Attorney Julio Cuevas, Deputy Chief of the Official Corruption Unit, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Luke Rettler, Chief of the Official Corruption Unit, and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Supervising Investigator Alex Farrugia and Senior Investigators Pat O’Brien and Richard Dietrich assisted in the investigation under the supervision of the Chief Investigator Walter Alexander.
District Attorney Vance thanked Deputy Inspector Gregory Sheehan and Sergeant Brandon Bunting of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
Defendant information:
ISAIAS ALICEA, D.O.B. 01/17/1984
Queens, NY
Charges:
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, 10 counts
• Official Misconduct, a class A misdemeanor, 2 counts
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.