Three of the six Philadelphia
police officers accused in a conspiracy to steal from alleged drug dealers will
be under house arrest while awaiting their trial.
Thomas Liciardello's wife swayed and sobbed in
her seat as U.S. Magistrate Tim Rice decided Monday afternoon her husband will
remain in prison while awaiting trial. Liciardello is suspected of leading the
conspiracy to rip off drug dealers in the city to the tune of $500,000.
Three other officers -- Linwood
Norman, Perry Betz and Brian Reynolds -- are not a threat to the public, Rice
ruled. They were allowed to post property and remain on house arrest while
preparing for their trial.
Attorney Jack McMahon, who
represents Reynolds, said federal prosecutors do not have a strong case against
the six narcotics officers who have been indicted on charges of using violence
and falsifying police reports to steal everything from drugs and cash to Rolex
watches from the drug dealers they arrested. U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger has said six
resorted to extreme violence to force the drug dealers to give up their cash
and valuables.
"We believe that the
weight of the evidence is suspect, we look forward to our day in court, and we
really believe that eventually Mr. Reynolds will be vindicated," McMahon
said Monday. Referring to Jeffrey
Walker, an officer who testified against the six, McMahon said, "This was
a desperate cop."
Of the alleged drug dealers who
supplied testimony, McMahon said, "We have 11 different people whose
criminal histories are not favorable to police. And when we put the two
together and the jury is able to see all the facts of the case instead of
allegations, we eventually will be successful."
The attorney representing Perry
Betts, another of the officers granted
house arrest, also questioned the credibility of Walker and others testifying
against the officers.
"There's no corroborating
evidence," said Greg Pagano. "The kind of evidence you would look for
in a case like this would be wiretaps, videotapes ... he kind of evidence they have against Police
Officer Walker, he was caught with the money in his pocket, the FBI's money. He
had no place to run, no place to hide but to implicate these defendants."
Federal prosecutors argued that
the men shouldn't be given special treatment because they are police officers.
Officer Michael Spicer, another
of the six, was held without bail during a separate hearing with Magistrate
Richard Lloret, who agreed that Spicer does represent a threat. The sixth
defendant, John Speiser, will have a bail hearing next week.
