NYPD DETECTIVE CHARGED WITH PERJURY IN CONNECTION WITH HIS TESTIMONY AT THE TRIAL OF A BRONX MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a New York City Police Detective has been arrested and charged with lying while under oath at the trial of a Bronx man who was charged with attempted murder.

A Grand Jury indicted Christopher Perino on 12 counts of Perjury in the 1st degree, a Class D felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 7 years on each count. Perino was arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett who set bail at $15,000 in the form of a personal recognizance bond.

District Attorney Johnson said: “These are very serious charges that put the safety of all law abiding citizens at risk because they undermine the integrity and foundation of the entire criminal justice system. This indictment hopefully will send a strong message that anyone in law enforcement who engages in illegal conduct of this nature will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”

The alleged crimes occurred on Thursday, April 12, 2007 and Friday, April 13, 2007 when Perino testified at the trial of Erik Crespo who was charged with attempted murder and other offenses, including criminal possession of a weapon.

The charges concern Perino’s testimony about an interview with Crespo that was conducted on December 31, 2005 at the 44th Precinct. Crespo, who was 17 years old at the time, was a suspect in a shooting on Christmas Day 2005.

According to the indictment Perino perjured himself at least once in response to a question under direct examination by the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case and at least eleven times under cross examination by Crespo’s defense attorney. It is alleged that Perino testified falsely in denying that he had questioned Crespo during a particular time period when in fact the interview had lasted for an hour and fifteen minutes and included a series of questions about the gun that was used in the shooting. The alleged perjury came to light because Crespo recorded the entire interview on an MP3 player that he had been listening to when he was brought into the precinct.

Mr. Johnson emphasized that the allegations against Detective Perino are not indicative of any department wide problem. “The overwhelming majority of our police officers are honest and hard working public servants who take seriously their oaths to uphold the law.”

Commenting on the initial case involving Erik Crespo Mr. Johnson said; “Fortunately in this case, the person at the center of Perino’s alleged wrong-doing is no innocent victim. Although the allegations of perjury undermined the attempted murder case against him, Erik Crespo ultimately pled guilty to the illegal gun charge and is currently serving a sentence of seven years in prison.”

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Larry Hartstein and Assistant District Attorney Randy Sinkler of the Investigations Division.