NEW YORK - APRIL 06: A New York City police officer stands on patrol on April 6, 2010 in New York City. Following a melee involving groups of youths around Times Square last Sunday evening, concern is growing that New York City may be witnessing a resurgence in crime. Crime is up while fewer officers are patrolling the streets due to budget cuts in the police department, with more officers assigned to terrorism related security details. Shootings in New York City are up 19 percent and murders up 22 percent over the same period last year. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo: Spencer Platt/2010 Getty Images
The NYPD investigation that led to the ticket-fixing indictments started in a barber shop staked out by one undercover officer, who rented a chair to work there and observe. Although he had a background in clipping, he wasn’t very believable, and the other undercovers who visited him as part of the mission had to have real barbers fix his screwups. “The consensus was just that he gave bad haircuts,” said a source. “They just didn’t like his haircuts.” Paging David Simon.
