crime and punishment

Cop Acquitted of East Village Rape Is Now in Prison

Kenneth Moreno. Photo: J.B Nicholas / Splash News/? www.splashnews.com

Kenneth Moreno, the former NYPD officer acquitted of raping a woman in her Lower East Side apartment but convicted of official misconduct, has already avoided serving his sentence for sixteen months due to appeals in state court, and on Thursday he made one last ditch effort in federal court. The judge wasn’t amused. Moreno’s lawyer asked Judge Richard J. Sullivan to allow his client to remain free while the court considered a motion to overturn the conviction, arguing that there were problems with instructions given to the jury and the jury pool was tainted by leaks to the media. “I have to say, I don’t even think this was a close call,” Judge Sullivan said of the motion. “Frankly, I think it took a certain amount of chutzpah to even bring it.” Earlier in the day Franklin Mata, Moreno’s former partner, turned himself in to start serving his 60-day sentence and Moreno is headed to Riker’s Island for a year (or just eight months with good behavior). Apparently his lawyer’s chutzpah is intact; he says he’s still moving forward with the federal appeal because his client’s constitutional rights have been violated.

Cop Acquitted of Rape Is Now in Prison