Review supports ex-NYPD detective’s murder cases, prosecutors say
Brooklyn prosecutors have affirmed the vast majority of homicide convictions involving controversial ex-NYPD homicide detective Louis Scarcella, according to court papers. He is shown on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS / Tom Hays
Brooklyn prosecutors have backed the vast majority of homicide convictions involving controversial ex-NYPD homicide detective Louis Scarcella, according to court papers.
The conviction review unit of the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office has been looking into more than 70 homicide cases handled by Scarcella over his career after newspapers in recent years reported that he coerced false statements from witnesses and, in one case, physically abused a witness.
Because of the stories and claims by defendants, a number of motions have asked courts to vacate some convictions. One of those involved Shawn Williams. His defense attorneys in January asked a Brooklyn State Supreme Court judge to vacate his 1996 murder conviction, in part because of an alleged suggestive photo lineup conducted by Scarcella, now 67.
In opposing the motion, Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Seth Lieberman filed court papers stating that, of the 41 cases involving Scarcella examined, prosecutors decided to defend the convictions in 34 cases. In the remaining seven cases, prosecutors agreed that the convictions should be vacated for reasons “not related to any alleged misconduct of Detective Scarcella,” Lieberman said in a May 15 court filing.
A spokesman for Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said that 31 other cases handled by Scarcella, reputed to be one of the most active homicide investigators in the late 1980s and early 1990s during the city’s crack-cocaine wars, are still being studied by the review unit.
“Louis Scarcella was an extraordinary detective who served the city honorably for 27 years” said defense attorney Alan Abramson of Brooklyn. He and attorney Joel Cohen of Manhattan represent Scarcella. “We are extremely gratified that the district attorney’s office has made it crystal clear that they have found no evidence of misconduct on the part of Det. Scarcella in any of the cases they have reviewed.”
Michael Palladino, head of the Detective’s Endowment Association, said Thursday he was gratified by the prosecution’s finding and said Scarcella had been made a scapegoat.
Scarcella’s cases continue to cause controversy. In November, Brooklyn State Supreme Court Judge ShawnDya L. Simpson ordered a new trial for John Dwayne Bunn on charges he murdered a city correction officer in 1991. Simpson said that Scarcella had a history of what the court called “malfeasance.” Abramson said Simpson’s ruling, which cited newspaper articles as evidence, is being appealed by prosecutors.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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