NYPD Ticket-Fixing Case Against Jennara Cobb Goes To Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - A ticket-fixing case that stung the New York Police Department three years ago has finally reached trial.
A Bronx judge heard testimony Friday against Jennara Cobb.
She denies charges that she warned another lieutenant and a police union representative about the probe in 2010.
The case against more than a dozen officers was announced in October 2011.
It sparked a debate over the informal practice of police squashing tickets or minor summonses as favors for friends and relatives.
Prosecutors portrayed it as a pervasive form of corruption. Union leaders contended it was a harmless, time-honored courtesy that never involved bribery.
Officers held up signs that read "It's A Courtesy, Not A Crime" and "Just Following Orders" and a quote from Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying "It's been going on since the days of the Egyptians," as officers answered charges in October 2011.
Also charged were Bronx union delegates Officers Joseph Anthony, 46; Michael Hernandez, 35; and Brian McGuckin, 44. Officer Virgilio Bencosme, 33, and Officer Luis R. Rodriguez, 43, both of the 40th Precinct; Officer Christopher Scott, 41, of the 48th Precinct; Officer Jaime Payan, 37, of the 46th Precinct; Officer Eugene P. O'Reilly, 39, of the 45th Precinct; Officer Christopher Manzi, 41, of the 41st Precinct; and Jason Cenizal, 39, a former delegate from the 42nd Precinct.
Cobb's case is the first to reach trial in state court.
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