Thursday, April 30, 2015

"They Were Taking Millions Of Dollars Of Poison Off The Streets"

Lt. Robert Otto [left]
By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

On the witness stand, Lt. Robert Otto was asked to give his professional assessment of former Officer Thomas Liciardello.

"He is one of the finest, most dedicated police officers," said the white-haired veteran of 26 years. Of the thousands of officers he has known during his career, Lt. Otto said, Liciardello ranks in the top 5.

"He is the best police investigator I ever met," Otto told the jury.

In court today, Otto also praised the work of the other five defendants in the rogue cops case.

 "They were very effective, very efficient, very honest," the lieutenant told the jury about the former members of the Narcotics Field Unit. "They were the best at what they did; there's no doubt about that."

"They were taking millions of dollars of poison off the streets," Otto told the jury. He said he used to tell the defendants they would never know how many lives they had saved until they went to heaven and met their maker.

He looked around the courtroom where the six former officers were sitting at several defense tables, accused by the federal government of conspiring to beat and rob drug dealers.

"And this here makes no sense to me," the lieutenant said.

In the spectator seats after the lieutenant got through testifying, a few female relatives of the defendants were crying.

Before Lt. Otto took the stand today, Sgt. Robert Friel, a former member of  the narcotics field unit, told the jury that former Officer Jeffrey Walker loathed Tommy Liciardello.

"He said, 'I hate that mother fucker' numerous times," Friel told the jury about Walker.

Friel said he told Walker that Liciardello gets under people's skins. Friel said he cautioned Walker not to jeopardize his career over the feud with his fellow officer.

But Walker wouldn't listen, Friel told the jury.

Friel said he heard Walker say, "One day I'll get him. He's gonna get hit."

Friel said he talked to Liciardello about the feud as well and concluded, "Tommy didn't like him," meaning Walker, either.

When Lt. Otto took the stand, he dismissed drug dealers' tales about the defendants conducting police raids while allegedly dressed in black and wearing ski masks.

"That's never been done," Otto told the jury. "That's nonsense."

Defense lawyer Jack McMahon asked the lieutenant to explain to the jury his philosophy behind his frequent "integrity checks" upon fellow officers.

Otto said his philosophy boiled down to this. If a cop was gonna go bad and dishonor his profession, "You don't give a fuck about me so I don't give a fuck about you."

"If you did something wrong, I'm gonna turn you in," Lt. Otto said he repeatedly told his men.

He was a "hands-on lieutenant," Otto said. When the cops busted marijuana dealer Jason Kennedy, Otto told the jury how he tried to tackle a fleeing suspect.

"If it was 25 years ago,"Otto said, "I would have caught him."

McMahon asked Otto what he thought of Officer Jeffrey Walker.

"Officer Walker was a satisfactory employee at best," Otto told  the jury. "He had problems."

Walker, Otto said, even accused him of misconduct. Otto told the jury how Walker once accused the lieutenant of taking $30,000 of a drug dealer's money.

Otto said he was incredulous and asked Walker if he realized what he was saying.

"That's what my source told me," Otto quoted Walker as saying.

Otto said he told Walker that regarding the incident in question, he found much more money than $30,000. Otto said he told Walker he had turned in $72,000 on a property receipt.

But Walker continued to insist that Otto had done something wrong.

Otto said he brought Walker in to see his captain, and asked Walker to repeat his accusations. Then, the lieutenant told the jury, he offered to go on restricted duty while internal affairs conducted an investigation.

After an objection from the prosecutor, the judge allowed Otto to say that nothing ever came of the alleged incident, and that Otto never had to go on restricted duty.

Regarding the feud between Walker Liciardello, Lt. Otto said he tried unsuccessfully to mediate.

"I thought it was a shame," Otto told the jury. The two officers "had been friends for years."

"I've often had conversations with both officers," Otto said. Walker "just simply detested Officer Liciardello," Otto said.

Court resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. with the cross-examination of Lt. Otto.

42 comments

  1. Lt .Otto aka Cash What a bull shit merchant

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    1. You got that right Otto and his altar boys .

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  2. To the scumbag officers who continue to run down this unit I hope one day one of these dealers come back to haunt someone in your family and see if you scumbag sorry pieces of shit badge wearing fucks think of these lying shit heads then. May be you have a daughter they put the spike in her and turn her ass out . You.ll dance to a different tune then you little sorry fuck faces what disgrace use are .

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    1. you live in a fantasy world, you watch too many movies,we have a constitution civil liberties, little, crazy, napoleon complex, tommy l is a psychopath and never never never shoulda been a police officer. The man is crazy, I know first hand because he terrorized me, and I looked into his eyes, and he's f****** crazy, why can't you believe that, and you should see, and he drinks and does drugs, and he cheats on his wife, just like drug dealers do and gangsters,

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    2. You know how I know you live in a fantasy world 10:15, you said Gangsters and drug dealers have wives. #teambabymamas

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  3. JB take it easy Little Tommy and His boys did wrong . They give decent cops a bad name . Narcotics is cess poll of shit . And these guys got dirty . JB they are guilty . Tell Sergeant Bottles to keep his mouth shut at the bar .When he gets drunk he talks , A FBI agent may be sitting next to Him with a wire ,like the kind Chris Werner wore your hero !!!!!

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    1. Little Tommy and Chief Werner are buddies . Chief Werner replace Chief Boyle a very honorable man , Chief Werner give Me immunity from prosecution , I will testify against little Tommy and His gang of thief's . What a disgrace and this guy gets patted on the back .

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  4. Who said the people running their mouths were cops?

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  5. JB don't worry Little Tommy will put you down on His prison visit list . Just make sure you put money on the books . He will need money for Mr.Bubba !!!!!

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    1. This is about how the government ruined the lives of 6 officers on hear say and no evidence what so ever . Nothing has been proven in this trial other than the feds imcompetence in there investigation of this case.

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  6. Everybody shut the hell up and keep your god damn mouth closed. You sound like idiots, let the courts see how it plays out

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  7. Couple more days fellas ! #NOTGUILTY. Can't even entertain the trash comments anymore . Jealous Fellow Officers or Junkies. That's all it boils down to.

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  8. From a higher perspective and for other reasons: the six ex police officers will be found guilty. Sad but true. A few of us(good men) have taken the opportunity to provide information requested by our federal government concerning these six ex police officers. They simply deserve to be locked away.

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    1. .......And the government will let us know about this new information that you and your "good men" provided during their closing arguments ......? Yea ok, did ya give em Tony Boyle?? LOL

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    2. M.T. you are a true friend . Little Tommy must be gay the way you carried on about Him . I hope the two of you some day have a life together , you guys deserve each other ,the love you have for each other will shine through the prison bars . M.T. you will have to share Him with Mr. Bubba .

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    3. M.T. does sound a little strange . I think M.T. is sad I hope His lover does not get a lot of time .

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    4. M.t. is one of the whore wives of these sick six dirty narcs. Get outttaaa hereeee

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    5. Sorry to dissipoint- not a wife, and not a boyfriend. Just a person that knows these men- and even if I did not know them it's not hard to see the facts of the case, it's also not hard to see by all your the hating comments that your fires are fueled by either, revenge ( drug dealers ) or jealousy ( fellow officers ) good luck to both.

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  9. ...where is the mummer/fed...in this??

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  10. The best defense witnesses were the key witnesses/"victims" the Feds put up. Obviously not guilty. A lot of cops probably not worth their weight in sacks of shit posting on here though. Pretty funny, especially when they're trashing cops that were, and should still be actually, doing the job. Hopefully when the not guilty comes down they can sue the balls off of the city/state/and federal government for this mockery of a trial. It's a witch hunt. Plain arms simple.

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  11. As a tax pat citizen, so many things about this trial are disturbing! Let's start with the fact that the officers have done and will continue what most of you can not! Remove trash and poison from our streets! This trial is a shit show to say the least. Your key witnesses are drug dealers! Fucking drug dealers who are on our streets killing our children and profiting from it! In my opinion these pieces of shit lost their rights when they chose that lifestyle. It's an absolute disgrace what is happening in that court room, but what's more of a disgrace is watching this thread of comments as a citizen seeing our police officers act so childish and unprofessional ! For christ sakes, you are fucking police officers! You need to hold yourselves as such! Stop bickering and for christ sakes snitching on each other on social media! What has happened to loyalty? You should all be ashamed of yourselves! Bottom line! I am watching this trial closely in hopes of a not guilty verdict so these officers can continue to do the job they have done for so many years!' And all of you should wake the fuck up today, look in the mirror and reevaluate yourselves and career choice. Being a police officer is one of the most honorable careers and some you should not be entitled to wear a badge!

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  12. Ok we are all entitled to our opinion lord knows we all have had one on here. I do not know any of these Gentlemen on trial nor do i know anybody that knows them. My only concern here is how my Government was allowed to even try this case. For all the resources and money at the hands of our federal Govermment you would think that after a 8 yr investigation there evidence ' taped conversations' Physical evidence'and last but not least witnesses that were truly violated . And all im saying is none of that in this trial has happened from the articles i have read here. And after all that has been said and done in these last 5 wks can anyone on that Jury say the Prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these 6 should be found Guilty. If you hate these guys because there arrogant thats fine. If you despise them because they arrested you thats fine. Are they Jerkoffs i have many friends that are cops that i grew up and when they drink and i drink we can become jerkoffs at times. Some of you might have seen these guys do some fucked up shit. But its hear say. And based on all i just mentioned how can anyone believe that this Jury when all is said and done can possibly convict these 6 with this information truly doesn.t get the System of Justice how it works. With that said the true hero.s here will be the Juror.s here no matter what decision they make for having to sit through this case. Because no matter what side your on i don.t think anyone can question there character and integrity after all is said and done. God bless these 12 and there familys and the 6 officers and thete familys.

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    1. First of all they are not Gentleman ,they are crooked cops , The jury can find them guilty .Criminals have rights .Just because you are a criminal you get shit on by rogue cops . We were wrong ,but these bums disguise as cops ,are bigger law breakers then us . We know we are drug dealers .I though the cops should be above us .I though they would be honest . No they beat us and stole our drug money .They are lower then us . They do not belong wearing a badge . They belong in Jail . Lt .Tommy is crazy and a psycho . He got a taste of free money, woman and drugs . He needs to pay for his crimes .

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    2. I am a retired Philadelphia Narcotics officer ,the reason I retired is because of the corruption in that unit . The unit Supervisors were the reason I left . Just like chief inspector Tony Boyle ,He is disused the way Commissioner Ramsey , and His puppets ( Deputy Commissioners ) are running the department . They turn their back when high ranking supervisors commit crimes . Commissioner Ramsey calls felonies by high ranking supervisors a mistake . The men and woman in Philadelphia Police department deserve better Supervisors .

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    3. ^ If you're speaking abilities and writing abilities are anywhere near the same calibre, the city is better off without you. Retired or fired?

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  13. I am continuing to pray for these officers and their families. Thank you for your service to our communities and neighborhoods. God Bless You.

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    1. Pray for yourself that you never come in contact with little Tommy and His outlaw gang of rouge cops . You will need God to survive that crew of thieves , better yet will be a big roll of cash in your pocket and some pills . You may get beat up ,but little Tommy will put you on His Christmas card list of donors !!!!!!!!!

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    2. I pray I do come in contact with them. It would be my honor to thank them in person for ridding the neighborhoods of junkies and drug dealers like you.

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    3. You are nuts they are worse then Dealers .They are supposed to represent Law and Order . I know I am scum , what is their excuse

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    4. When did scum start believing they had rights?? No one cares about you, please try to undertand that.

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    5. The above comments prove to me that we have become a nation of unforgiving, uncaring citizens. We are a back biting , jealous, kick a man when he is down people. Everyman for himself. Truly sickening . Lets not lose sight of the facts, the feds do such a shoddy, incompetent job, but expect a jury to send these men to jail for an very long time. One of the requirements of accusing someone of a crime is to get the facts right, unlimited time and unlimited resources ? ,I expected better ,but this is business as usual for the feds. Still living on the image of do gooders saving the American people. We are all people trying to do the best we can in life. Why do the feds set themselves up as infallible, invincible , saviors of our democracy. Give people a break, there are other ways to discipline people. Humiliating, degrading , bankrupting and otherwise stripping individuals of any remaining dignity is not the way to go. We need a better system. We are not moving forward as a nation, with trails that could have been handle INTERNALLY and NOT ON A FEDERAL LEVEL.

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  14. Well I would only come in contact with them if I sold drugs or was a criminal. Which I am not. I pay taxes and follow the law. So tell me why you deserve the same rights as me! Your a murderer! You are killing our children with drugs and your crying about cops roughing you up and stealing your dirty money! Come on now! You are not entitled sorry, and not credible on a stand! You play dirty, you get dirty!

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  15. Thank the cops when they are in jail. I am so happy to see these scum bags got caught for this. It makes me happy that their families are up at night, and not able to sleep. I am happy they will have to go visit them in jail. To the wives of these asshole cops I want them to give their husbands a pass, they are not cheating on u when they are getting raped in jail. It makes me smile knowing they will be in jail with the same people they arrested. it will be hell for these fuckers. Bottom line is this is 2015, its not the wild west, they wanted to play cowboys, and they got busted. I think they watched too many movies. You do dirt, you get dirt. So to the women, and family of these assholes go cry to someone that cares. THEY BEAT PEOPLE, STOLE, USED AND ABUSED EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE THEY COULD. I hope they boys in the can make their life a living hell. Must respect to the FEDs that put an end do there cowboy ways. FEDS AND CITIZENS 1 ASSHOLE COPS 0.

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    1. Trust me, no one is "up at night", because the prosecution did a shitty job presenting their case and I think everyone agrees that there is Tons of Reasonable Doubt. This trial is a mockery of our system. Have you sat thru any of the trial? I encourage you to come and see for yourself. At the end of the day, there are good people in society and there are scum. Some of the scum gets caught and does time, others are still destroying our society! There are also good cops and bad cops, some get caught and some continue to dishonor the badge they are wearing. So, guess what..........It's life and it's not fair!!!!

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    2. Actually, they did not get caught at all. There is NO evidence of any wrongdoing.

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    3. you are wrong anonymous 3:48, there is a ton of evidence of Tommy L. cursing.

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  16. I stand corrected Jim g. They shall burn in eternal hell for all of the violating and scary cursing!! Lol

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  17. The best witnesses for the defense has been the key witnesses/"victims" that the persecution put on the stand. The one couldn't tell Norman (large/black) from Speiser(average/white) apart? The other accused Reynolds of stealing a watch that Reynolds owned well before they arrested this "victim"? The agents involved couldn't find a paper trace on any of this alleged stolen money? The agents never corroborated the "victims" stories by way of where they say the money came from? The agents failed to catch these guys on a sting? It only took one sting to catch admitted scum bag Jeff walker. Come on! Even a blind man can see that these men are not guilty. Oh and, conveniently, Jeff walker at some point or another in all of these alleged incidents, was alone with money and drugs: the same incidents in which money and drugs have been allegedly stolen. Now the main witness (Walker) who has had an ax to grind with these guys blames them in exchange for leniency? This is painfully obvious. The only one guilty is the only one caught. Walker.

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    1. YES!!!!����������

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  18. I do not know whether these officers are guilty or not, I am sure their is much reasonable doubt, because they are innocent or inept federal investigators and prosecutors did not have the one thing that is needed to convict anyone, EVIDENCE!

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