Former NYPD Detective Joseph Franco to stand trial for figureheads and bogus arrests

A fired NYPD detective stood trial in Manhattan Thursday after being accused of sending innocent people to jail for lying in the line of duty.

Assistant District Attorney Samantha Dworkin told jurors in her opening statement that Joseph Franco’s alleged fabrications “resulted in the wrongful arrest, indictment, and conviction of the very New Yorkers he was obligated to protect and serve.”

A former South Manhattan narcotics detective fired by the NYPD in May 2020 is accused of setting up at least five people for selling drugs between February 2017 and April 2018. Three of them pleaded guilty, and two served more than a year in prison.

Prosecutors said Franco lied in official documents and grand jury testimony. They claim that he perpetuated fictional events in his colleagues’ documents by lying to them, which also jeopardized their work.

Dworkin told the court that Franco’s job on the plainclothes team he worked with was to lurk in the shadows while cops spied on potential drug purchases at public housing estates in Manhattan.

“Franco’s job was to hide in plain sight,” the prosecutor said, adding that it was common for him “to be alone, where no one knew where he was or what he could see.”

Dworkin said Franco was caught when the Manhattan prosecutor in charge of the case in April 2018 found flaws in the version of events given by a narcotics officer when he claimed to have witnessed a woman selling cocaine at the entrance to a building.

When the prosecutor backtracked and tried to corroborate Franco’s detective work with CCTV footage, they were unable to find any evidence of the deal.

“The dominoes started falling from there,” Dworkin said.

Jurors have not heard of more than 400 cases dropped by district attorneys since the charges against Franco first surfaced in 2019, including 107 cases in Manhattan. Prosecutors said the former police officer made more than 100 arrests and helped thousands in his 20-year career.

Franco’s lawyer, Howard Tanner, said his client was guilty of nothing more than making some mistakes.

“You don’t take binoculars and look into a building. You blend in with the rest,” Tanner said in his opening remarks. “Paperwork sometimes fills up after a few hours. Will it meet the standard of a human tape recorder?

Tanner likened the work of undercover drug cops to a “phone game” where details are lost.

“By the time you get to the last person… things get a little confusing,” Tanner said. “Things get lost in translation.”

Franco pleaded not guilty to six counts of perjury, 15 counts of providing false documents, and five counts of misconduct. He faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty.