The Dirty Thirty was a police corruption conspiracy that took place between 1992 and 1995 in the New York City Police Department's 30th Precinct, serving Harlem, and resulted in the largest collection of police officers charged with corruption in New York City in almost a decade. A group of rogue officers, led by Sergeant Kevin P. Nannery, participated in various unlawful activities, including civil rights conspiracy, perjury, extortion, grand larceny and the possession and distribution of narcotics. The scandal led to a number of arrests of police officers and two suicides.
Background The "Dirty 30" were mostly stationed at the 30th Precinct in Harlem, Upper Manhattan. At the time, the area was known as the “cocaine capital of the world” to locals and law enforcement. Police corruption was extremely high around this time, and the Mollen Commission was created to help investigate and eradicate corruption within the NYPD.
Nannery's Raiders Sergeant Kevin Nannery was among police supervisors who participated in the criminal conspiracy. His subordinate officers adopted the moniker "Nannery's Raiders", and participated in "booming" – making bogus radio calls to cover up illegal search and seizures on known drug dealers' apartments, where they took drugs and large amounts of cash but did not enter their seizures into evidence. Instead, they sold the drugs from the 30th Precinct itself at half-market price in order to further their own profit.
In one case, Sergeant Nannery and two officers stopped a man in an apartment complex and took his keys before ransacking his apartment without a warrant. They let the man go after taking several thousand dollars' worth of drugs and cash. They also participated in various extortion schemes, with illegal drug wholesalers giving the officers weekly payoffs that ranged anywhere from $600–$1,000.
Investigation and arrests In 1993, officer "Otto" Barry Brown went undercover in an investigation in to the Dirty 30. The two-year investigation included sting and surveillance operations. On the day of Sept 28, 1994, 29 police officers were arrested and five of them pled guilty. In total, 33 officers were arrested by the conclusion of the investigation. Due to the investigations outcome, 30 officers who were involved in 50 criminal cases had to be thrown out of court.
Officers and charges Name Charges Sgt. Kevin P. Nannery 4 counts 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy Sgt. Richard J. McGauley 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy Officer D. Benitez extortion Officer Edward M. Checke 1st deg. perjury Officer George H. Eckerson civil rights conspiracy Officer Justine A. Fazzini 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy Officer Theodore Giovanniello 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy Officer Kevin Kay civil rights conspiracy, tax evasion Officer William H. Knox 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy, possession of narcotics, misprision of a felony Officer Thomas J. Nolan 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy Officer Armando Palacio 1st deg. perjury Officer Steven L. Pataki 1st deg. perjury Officer Blake C. Struller 3rd deg. grand larceny, civil rights conspiracy, narcotics distribution, tax evasion Officer Joseph M. Walsh 1st deg. perjury, civil rights conspiracy, tax evasion
See also Crime in Harlem
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