Brooklyn Moves To Toss 90 Convictions Secured By Indicted Cop: DA

BROOKLYN, NY — Ninety convictions could be wiped from the books in Brooklyn after the undercover detective who helped secure them was indicted for perjury, the district attorney announced.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez will ask two judges on Wednesday to vacate and dismiss 27 felony and 63 misdemeanor convictions that were based on the work of former NYPD Detective Joseph Franco, who was indicted in Manhattan for perjury and official misconduct in 2019.

Franco, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is accused of lying about witnessing drug buys that video shows did not happen and was fired from the force in 2020.

“Knowingly and repeatedly framing innocent people obliterates the credibility of any police officer and proving perjury in such circumstances is rare," Gonzalez said. "After a grand jury reviewed the evidence and indicted former Detective Franco, I have lost confidence in his work. His cases in Brooklyn are over a decade old, which limited our ability to reinvestigate them, but I cannot in good faith stand by convictions that principally relied on his testimony."

The request comes after Gonzalez's Conviction Review Unit went over all convictions where Franco was involved. The unit did not find misconduct, but flagged any cases where Franco was an essential witness, meaning the case could not have been prosecuted without him, the DA said.

The DA will face two judges Wednesday, one at 9:30 a.m. about the misdemeanors and another at 1 p.m. for the felony convictions.

Most of both groups of convictions were based on drug charges, whether for sale or possession. They stem from arrests between 2004 and 2011 when Franco was assigned to Brooklyn commands and, in all but one, were obtained by a guilty plea, according to the DA's office.

Those convicted in the cases were sentenced to between six months and a year in jail. The longest sentence stemming from the convictions was three months in prison, Gonzalez said.

Franco's lawyer has said he will vigorously defend the Manhattan case, according to the New York Times.

“I would therefore ask that the public withhold judgment until all the facts are heard,” he said.