NYPD Cop Lied About Finding A Gun In Suspect's Home, DA Says

RED HOOK, NY — An NYPD officer lied under oath several times about how a gun was found in a Red Hook apartment in order to obtain a search warrant, prosecutors said.

Joseph Moloney, 27, was hit with a 24-count indictment on Tuesday after prosecutors said he changed his story several times about the gun, eventually coming clean and admitting he wasn't even inside the apartment when it was found.

"Our police officers are expected to be truthful and honest at all times because people’s fates and the integrity of the justice system depend on that," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

"We allege that the officer in this case failed to do that and instead repeatedly gave false testimony under oath. Such conduct diminishes public trust and is, in fact, criminal. We intend to now hold the defendant accountable."

The charges stem from a 2016 arrest when Moloney and three other officers executed a summons warrant for a man who lived in the Red Hook Houses, prosecutors said.

The officers knocked on the suspect's apartment door on May 6, 2016 at about 6:30 a.m. and arrested him after he answered, according to the indictment.

They let the suspect go into his bedroom to get dressed, but Moloney and another officer took him outside after he became agitated, prosecutors said.

Two other officers later found an already-opened black box in the apartment that had a gun, a watch, cash and three bags of marijuana in it and a sergeant ordered Moloney to get an emergency search warrant for the apartment, authorities said.

Moloney swore that the suspect kicked the box under the bed while he was getting dressed and Maloney found the pistol inside, prosecutors said.

"As I was assisting [redacted] to get dressed, [redacted] kicked a black plastic box under the bed where the baby was sleeping," Moloney swore in an affidavit used to apply for a search warrant. "I then opened the black plastic box and observed a silver pistol inside the box."

They were granted the warrant and recovered a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol from the box. Moloney testified under oath three times that he found the gun, prosecutors said.

An investigation later found that the box spring in the apartment was on the floor, making it impossible to kick the box underneath.

At a Supreme Court hearing, Moloney repeatedly said the box was pushed "away from the bed" and saying it was underneath was "just a rookie mistake."

Eventually, he came clean in July 2017 that he never opened the black box or saw it being open and the charges against the man were dismissed, prosecutors said.

Moloney was indicted for perjury, making a false statement and official misconduct for lying under oath and pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday, court records show.

His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Image: Shutterstock