MedicCook
02-20-2007, 02:28 PM
Schenectady vice sergeant placed on leave
SCHENECTADY -- A police sergeant whose leadership of the vice squad has been under scrutiny since it was discovered that seized crack cocaine evidence was missing from the unit has been placed on paid administrative leave, law enforcement sources confirmed Tuesday.
No criminal or internal affairs charges have been filed against Sgt. Daniel Diamond, who is the direct supervisor of the investigators assigned to the squad. It could not be confirmed why Diamond was put on leave.
Efforts to reach Police Chief Michael Geraci were not successful.
Diamond is the first officer to be taken off the street in connection with the State Police investigation of the missing evidence.
A Police Department audit of drug evidence at the beginning exposed problems with sloppy evidence management, storage and record-keeping, law enforcement officials said.
Schenectady police officials determined that crack cocaine had disappeared in at least three other drug cases, forcing them to ask the State Police to take over the investigation into the missing evidence.
The probe was launched after prosecutors dropped felony drug charges against a city man because police couldn't locate the crack cocaine for his trial. Police arrested Anthony Best, 43, of Schenectady, after allegedly finding 85 chunks of crack -- with a street value of between $1,700 and $3,000 -- during a raid at 913 Lincoln Ave. Best faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The State Police investigation hits a department still haunted by the memory of a three-year FBI investigation earlier this decade that led to the conviction of four officers on federal offenses. That probe focused on a clique of rogue patrol officers who were using crack as rewards for informants.
The vice squad investigates between 700 and 800 drug cases annually, regularly compiling between 1,500 and 2,000 bags of drug evidence each year.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=564848&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=2/20/2007
SCHENECTADY -- A police sergeant whose leadership of the vice squad has been under scrutiny since it was discovered that seized crack cocaine evidence was missing from the unit has been placed on paid administrative leave, law enforcement sources confirmed Tuesday.
No criminal or internal affairs charges have been filed against Sgt. Daniel Diamond, who is the direct supervisor of the investigators assigned to the squad. It could not be confirmed why Diamond was put on leave.
Efforts to reach Police Chief Michael Geraci were not successful.
Diamond is the first officer to be taken off the street in connection with the State Police investigation of the missing evidence.
A Police Department audit of drug evidence at the beginning exposed problems with sloppy evidence management, storage and record-keeping, law enforcement officials said.
Schenectady police officials determined that crack cocaine had disappeared in at least three other drug cases, forcing them to ask the State Police to take over the investigation into the missing evidence.
The probe was launched after prosecutors dropped felony drug charges against a city man because police couldn't locate the crack cocaine for his trial. Police arrested Anthony Best, 43, of Schenectady, after allegedly finding 85 chunks of crack -- with a street value of between $1,700 and $3,000 -- during a raid at 913 Lincoln Ave. Best faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The State Police investigation hits a department still haunted by the memory of a three-year FBI investigation earlier this decade that led to the conviction of four officers on federal offenses. That probe focused on a clique of rogue patrol officers who were using crack as rewards for informants.
The vice squad investigates between 700 and 800 drug cases annually, regularly compiling between 1,500 and 2,000 bags of drug evidence each year.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=564848&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=2/20/2007