Because our audience surely includes a law-breaker or two, we thought we’d bring you this update on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy: according to the New York Times, the storm pummeled a Red Hook warehouse that was home to “hundreds of seized cars, thousands of guns and 9,846 barrels of evidence containing sensitive DNA material.” And apparently, in at least six recent trials, inaccessible evidence has damaged the department’s case. “This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg,” said Legal Aid Society chief lawyer Steven Banks.
There are no statistics on exactly how much evidence was damaged or destroyed, but the NYPD has assigned a 29-person staff to attempt recovery at the warehouses, which have been contaminated with raw sewage, among other materials. According to retired officer John W. Cassidy, much of the material wasn’t organized well to begin with. “It was all piles — piles, piles, piles,” he said. “It’s not like it was organized. You could have 50 vouchers on one pile.”
You may have caught your lucky break.
(Photo: Rusty Sheriff/Flickr)
