Final cases tied to former NYPD detective charged with perjury thrown out

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, September 8, 2023
Bronx court dismisses 67 remaining cases against former NYPD detective
Bronx court dismisses 67 remaining cases against former NYPD detective

BRONX (WABC) -- All of the remaining convictions tied to the testimony of a former NYPD cop accused of lying and framing innocent people have been thrown out.

On Thursday, a Bronx Supreme Court threw out 67 remaining low-level drug cases tied to Joseph Franco, who worked as an undercover narcotics detective in the Bronx between 2011 and 2015.

Franco was tied to more than 300 cases total.

He was indicted in 2019, but his case was thrown out earlier this year after the Manhattan District Attorney's office failed to share evidence with defense lawyers.

Back in 2022, more than 130 convictions relying on the testimony of the former undercover NYPD detective.

In April 2019, a New York County grand jury indicted Franco on 16 counts of first-degree perjury and related charges. In July 2019, a grand jury indicted him on 10 additional counts of first-degree perjury and related charges.

He was fired from the NYPD in May 2020.

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