Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 4, 2007 12:50:57 GMT -5
This is how a dirty cop named Officer Mario Morales supplemented his paycheck. He robbed drug dealers.
He didn't just snatch them off the street; Morales used his badge and gun to get inside their homes.
In 2001, for instance, he knocked on the door of a gang leader named Jerome Carman. Carman wasn't home, but his girlfriend, Emily Rivera, and their two children were.
Although off duty at the time, Morales identified himself as the police and said he had a search warrant. Rivera opened the door. What else could she do?
The dirty cop handcuffed Rivera to a bed and ransacked the house, apparently looking for money and drugs. Since Carman was indeed a drug dealer, whom was she going to call for help?
Morales knew Rivera would stay cuffed to the bed praying he didn't blow her head off.
But sometime between 2001 and 2003, Morales the dirty cop was busted by honest cops. Morales pleaded guilty to racketeering and firearms charges.
In one heist alone, he admitted stealing more than 220 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash. He also told the court that he searched alleged dealers' homes multiple times while wearing his badge and carrying a gun.
In 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly sentenced Morales to 24½ years in prison for his part in the scheme to rob and kidnap drug dealers.
By then, Carman the drug dealer was also in prison. That left Emily Rivera and the couple's children out on the street trying to get on with their lives.
But Rivera apparently knew something about how the law is supposed to work. She filed a civil suit against Morales and won a default judgment against him for $175,000.
City is off the hook
Of course, a judgment entered against a man who is sent to prison for 24½ years doesn't mean very much. Rivera also filed suit against the City of Chicago for keeping someone as dirty as Morales on the payroll.
That turned out not to mean very much, either.
A District Court judge found that the city is "only obligated to indemnify damages awarded for misconduct that is committed within the scope of an officer's employment," said Michael Robbins, Rivera's lawyer.
In other words, since Morales the cop wasn't acting like a cop but a criminal when he handcuffed Rivera, the city was off the hook and Rivera was on.
The federal rules provide that the losing parties in civil litigation pay the costs of the winning party. In this case, the city is asking for about $747.
"The exception to that rule is when someone is truly indigent. Then a judge can excuse them from paying the costs," Robbins pointed out.
And Rivera was excused.
The city appealed to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court, and the case has gone back to the District Court so that a judge can determine whether Rivera would be able to pay the costs in the future.
Are lawyers trying to send a message?
You could argue that since Rivera was hooked up with a known gang leader, she put herself in harm's way and got what she deserved. Still, it makes no sense for the city to go after a single mother for $747, unless lawyers are indeed trying to send a message.
After all, the city's corporation counsel approves millions and millions of dollars to settle police brutality cases every year.
There's no question that Morales victimized Rivera, and she's definitely not the only person who was victimized by rogue cops.
In demanding that Rivera -- who apparently cannot afford it -- pay up, the city is warning other victims.
"This would have a chilling effect," Robbins said. "The city is not looking for the $700. They want it to be known that if you sue the city and you lose, they will come after you for costs, and they don't care how poor you are," he said.
"That is what I found so troubling. They also made reference to baseless litigation," Robbins said. "We did not prevail, but we had a legitimate claim and a legitimate injury. The city should have taken responsibility."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, is also concerned.
"The real harm here, the real trouble is that someone in the city made a judgment to go after this woman who had been harmed," Yohnka said.
"One would have to think that this decision was made at a fairly high level within the corporation counsel's office," he said. "What kind of message does that send to poor people who are seeking compensation when they have been harmed?"
It's not poor people, but the victims of rogue cops who have to worry.
The reason cops like Morales got away with their crimes in the first place is because their victims knew they had nowhere to turn for help.
www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/197113,CST-NWS-mitch04.article
He didn't just snatch them off the street; Morales used his badge and gun to get inside their homes.
In 2001, for instance, he knocked on the door of a gang leader named Jerome Carman. Carman wasn't home, but his girlfriend, Emily Rivera, and their two children were.
Although off duty at the time, Morales identified himself as the police and said he had a search warrant. Rivera opened the door. What else could she do?
The dirty cop handcuffed Rivera to a bed and ransacked the house, apparently looking for money and drugs. Since Carman was indeed a drug dealer, whom was she going to call for help?
Morales knew Rivera would stay cuffed to the bed praying he didn't blow her head off.
But sometime between 2001 and 2003, Morales the dirty cop was busted by honest cops. Morales pleaded guilty to racketeering and firearms charges.
In one heist alone, he admitted stealing more than 220 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash. He also told the court that he searched alleged dealers' homes multiple times while wearing his badge and carrying a gun.
In 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly sentenced Morales to 24½ years in prison for his part in the scheme to rob and kidnap drug dealers.
By then, Carman the drug dealer was also in prison. That left Emily Rivera and the couple's children out on the street trying to get on with their lives.
But Rivera apparently knew something about how the law is supposed to work. She filed a civil suit against Morales and won a default judgment against him for $175,000.
City is off the hook
Of course, a judgment entered against a man who is sent to prison for 24½ years doesn't mean very much. Rivera also filed suit against the City of Chicago for keeping someone as dirty as Morales on the payroll.
That turned out not to mean very much, either.
A District Court judge found that the city is "only obligated to indemnify damages awarded for misconduct that is committed within the scope of an officer's employment," said Michael Robbins, Rivera's lawyer.
In other words, since Morales the cop wasn't acting like a cop but a criminal when he handcuffed Rivera, the city was off the hook and Rivera was on.
The federal rules provide that the losing parties in civil litigation pay the costs of the winning party. In this case, the city is asking for about $747.
"The exception to that rule is when someone is truly indigent. Then a judge can excuse them from paying the costs," Robbins pointed out.
And Rivera was excused.
The city appealed to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court, and the case has gone back to the District Court so that a judge can determine whether Rivera would be able to pay the costs in the future.
Are lawyers trying to send a message?
You could argue that since Rivera was hooked up with a known gang leader, she put herself in harm's way and got what she deserved. Still, it makes no sense for the city to go after a single mother for $747, unless lawyers are indeed trying to send a message.
After all, the city's corporation counsel approves millions and millions of dollars to settle police brutality cases every year.
There's no question that Morales victimized Rivera, and she's definitely not the only person who was victimized by rogue cops.
In demanding that Rivera -- who apparently cannot afford it -- pay up, the city is warning other victims.
"This would have a chilling effect," Robbins said. "The city is not looking for the $700. They want it to be known that if you sue the city and you lose, they will come after you for costs, and they don't care how poor you are," he said.
"That is what I found so troubling. They also made reference to baseless litigation," Robbins said. "We did not prevail, but we had a legitimate claim and a legitimate injury. The city should have taken responsibility."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, is also concerned.
"The real harm here, the real trouble is that someone in the city made a judgment to go after this woman who had been harmed," Yohnka said.
"One would have to think that this decision was made at a fairly high level within the corporation counsel's office," he said. "What kind of message does that send to poor people who are seeking compensation when they have been harmed?"
It's not poor people, but the victims of rogue cops who have to worry.
The reason cops like Morales got away with their crimes in the first place is because their victims knew they had nowhere to turn for help.
www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/197113,CST-NWS-mitch04.article