Cop accused of writing false tickets

TARRYTOWN Trooper Lester Hooper wrote the tickets without ever stopping the man, identified in court as Derrick Perry of Brooklyn, police said. They said the summonses, alleging traffic violations in three different Westchester towns, were issued in retribution for a personal parking dispute in Brooklyn last winter.

Police gave no other details of that dispute, but Hooper's lawyer, Pat Bonanno, said it involved contact between Perry and Hooper's wife.

Hooper was arraigned Tuesday in Harrison, Greenburgh and White Plains on charges of issuing false documents and official misconduct. The Harrison charge said he falsely alleged that Perry was speeding and failed to signal on Interstate 287.

Hooper, 35, of Brooklyn, was arrested Tuesday and suspended without pay after a three-month investigation.

Hooper is charged in Westchester County with three counts of offering a false instrument for filing, three counts of issuing a false certificate and three counts of official misconduct.

Hooper joined the State Police in February 2005 and he is assigned to Troop T on the New York State Thruway at Tarrytown.