NYPD DETECTIVE CONVICTED OF COMMITTING PERJURY
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that New York City Police Detective Christopher Perino has been convicted of perjury for lying under oath at the trial of a man whom he had arrested for attempted murder.
Perino was convicted on 3 felony counts of Perjury in the 1st degree and 1 misdemeanor count of Perjury in the 3rd degree.\ Perino was found guilty by Acting State Supreme Court Justice James Kindler following a non-jury trial. The judge set sentencing for Tuesday, August 18, 2009 in Part T 14. Perino is facing a maximum sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment on each felony count and up to one year in jail on the misdemeanor count.
District Attorney Robert T. Johnson said: “Incarceration in state prison is an appropriate punishment in this case and will be our recommendation to the judge. We cannot even begin to address the public safety issues in the city if the testimony on which we must rely is perjured. The damage is compounded when the person who offers untruthful testimony is a police officer who is sworn to uphold the law.”
Perino’s false testimony was offered in April 2007 at the trial of Erik Crespo who was charged with attempted murder and other offenses, including criminal possession of a weapon. The perjury concerned Perino’s testimony about an interview with Crespo that was conducted on December 31, 2005 at the 44th Precinct.
The judge found that Perino lied under oath in responding to four separate questions under cross examination by Crespo’s defense attorney:
(Q) Now, you said on direct examination that you never asked him any questions when
you were alone with him in the room on December 31, 2005, isn’t that true? (A) That’s correct.
He wasn’t questioned.
(Q) Did you ever ask him where did you get the gun? (A) No sir.
(Q) Did you ever ask him what did you do with the gun? (A) No sir.
(Q) Did you ever tell him in that room that evening if he didn’t give a written statement
he wouldn’t be able to tell his side of the story? (A) No sir.
The perjury came to light because Crespo had recorded the entire interview on an MP3 player that he had been listening to when he was brought to the precinct. The recording, which was entered in evidence, was an hour and fifteen minutes long.
Although Detective Perino’s false testimony undermined the attempted murder case, Crespo ultimately pled guilty to the illegal gun charge and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
After delivering the guilty verdict against Perino, Justice Kindler allowed the defendant to remain free on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond pending sentencing in August. Detective Perino’s conviction resulted in his automatic termination from the NYPD.
Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Larry Hartstein and Assistant District Attorney Jacob Kaplan of the Rackets Bureau are prosecuting the case.
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