Report: Newark, N.J. Police Suspected of Shakedowns

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- State and city authorities are investigating whether a half-dozen Newark police officers shook down drug dealers and prostitutes, selling confiscated drugs and guns, according to a newspaper report.

The findings are to be presented to a state grand jury, officials told The Star-Ledger of Newark in Tuesday's editions.

About eight officers have received letters from the state Division of Criminal Justice telling them they are targets or are possible witnesses, said Jack McEntee, president of Newark Lodge 12 of the Fraternal Order of Police, the city's police union.

He criticized investigators, charging they have used "unprofessional and inappropriate" tactics to conduct interviews and gather evidence, including denying witnesses the right to have an attorney or union representative present.

Newark Police Director Anthony Ambrose and Criminal Justice spokesman John Hagerty confirmed the investigation, but declined to say what wrongdoing may be at issue.

However, unnamed officials told the newspaper that in addition to allegations of shakedowns, investigators are examining whether police conducted illegal searches, planted drugs or kept some of the cash seized in drug raids.

Newark cops indicted in shakedowns
Pair netted in state corruption probe

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Two Newark cops were indicted yesterday on charges of stealing money from drug dealers and people who knew them, in a widening corruption investigation of the city's police department.

Lawrence "Hightower" Furlow, 43, and Darius "Red" Smith, 33, are the latest officers involved in an investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice and Newark police department into allegations that outlaw cops robbed dealers and prostitutes, resold drugs and sold guns over a three-year period.

Last week, Newark police Officer Tyrone Dudley admitted in Superior Court in Mercer County that he shook down drug dealers and took their money. In addition, he identified seven other West District officers, including Furlow and Smith, as being involved.

Vaughn McKoy, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said Dudley, Furlow and Smith confronted drug dealers in the streets, their homes and sometimes stopped them in their cars to shake them down.

In addition to shaking down drug dealers, the officers took money from residents who knew the drug dealers or were related to them, said John Hagerty, a spokesman for the Division of Criminal Justice.

According to yesterday's indictment, Furlow and Smith are charged with taking more than $500 from drug dealers and other victims.

Furlow, who joined the force eight years ago, was arrested yesterday morning while on duty at the communications center. He later pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Donald Volkert Jr. in Newark to charges of theft, official misconduct and tampering with and falsifying records.

Smith, an 11-year veteran, was being sought by authorities. He faces the same charges as Furlow and also has been accused of planting drugs on victims.

Attorney General Peter Harvey said the officers Dudley named are under investigation, but he stopped short of saying if more indictments were coming.

"We don't believe that this is the end of it," he said.

The other officers identified in court and confirmed by Harvey, but who have not been charged with any crime -- Ismael Lespier, Angel Vila, Mario DaSilva, Onofre Cabezas and Lawee Colbert -- have been reassigned, said Police Director Anthony Ambrose.

He said Smith, who earns $77,056, and Furlow, who receives $73, 396, have been suspended without pay.

Authorities said there is no connection with this investigation and an indictment handed down earlier this week by the state grand jury against another officer, Brandy Johnson, who is charged with selling cocaine from her home on Tuxedo Parkway with her boyfriend Khalid Onion.

In addition to the plea and indictments, a federal judge in Newark castigated the department's handling of a reputed drug dealer in jail on narcotics charges and set the man free, saying his constitutional rights were severely abused when he was arrested in 2002.

Harvey said his office, Newark police, the Division of Criminal Justice and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office will put together a team to weed out corrupt officers.

He said drug dealers came forward with their story, which was corroborated by people who also had money taken by the cops.

Ambrose said the indictments are disheartening to the department, whose 1,900 officers work hard to uphold the law.

"I will not allow officers of this department to go out and break the law to enforce the law," he said.

Bail for Furlow was set at $20,000, although his attorney, Kelly Daniels of Chatham, argued that he be released on his own recognizance.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Eliades said there is a 50-page statement from Furlow regarding his involvement, but he wouldn't characterize it as a confession. Daniels said that would be an issue in the case because Furlow gave the statement without an attorney.

Dale Jones, the assistant public defender for the state, said his office will review cases that included testimony of police officers accused of misconduct.

He said the review will rely on attorneys remembering if the three officers ever testified in any of their cases.

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