REV. AL IN GREED AND MISLEAD: UNION BIG

REV. AL IN GREED AND MISLEAD: UNION BIG
By CHUCK BENNETT
May 1, 2008 –

The head of the detectives union accused the Rev. Al Sharpton and his lawyer pal yesterday of “misleading people” on the Sean Bell case.

“The problem I think with this case – it would go back to Sharpton and [attorney Sanford] Rubenstein – is they spent so much time misleading people, and this is a very dangerous thing,” said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association.

“They misled the public right from the start, if you recall, and that’s why the [district attorney] got so heavily involved,” Palladino said during a meeting with the New York Post editorial board.

He added that Sharpton misled the Bell family, along with the other shooting victims, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, on the detectives’ supposed guilt.

Last Friday, the three cops who fired the collective 50 shots that killed Bell outside a strip club on his wedding day in November 2006 were acquitted of all charges.

Palladino said that the victims’ $50 million lawsuit against the officers and the NYPD didn’t help the prosecution, noting that during cross-examination, Benefield said he wouldn’t say anything to hurt the case.

“Sharpton’s greed and Rubenstein’s greed mislead the public,” Palladino said.

Sharpton responded, “I never promised anything but the pursuit of justice.”

He added that he has no financial stake in the civil suit.

“I challenge [Palladino to name] any lawsuit that I or [the National Action Network] would benefit from,” he said.

Meanwhile, a relaxed-looking Detective Michael Oliver, who fired 31 of the 50 shots, reported for modified desk duty early in the morning at the 13th Precinct station house on East 21st Street in Manhattan. Oliver greeted a Post photographer with a wave.

chuck.bennett@nypost.com

REV. AL IN GREED AND MISLEAD: UNION BIG – New York Post.

Tags: Criminal+Justice

BIG $$ RIDIN’ ON IT

BIG $$ RIDIN’ ON IT
MTA TO PAY $2M FOR COMMUTER SURVEYS
By PATRICK GALLAHUE, Transit Reporter

May 1, 2008 — The MTA is giving riders hundreds of dollars for their two cents.

The agency will spend $2 million to survey riders on their transit experience and will pay a select few straphangers $500 for answering their questions.

The MTA will mail letters to a randomly chosen 170,000 New Yorkers starting this week to ask for their participation in the survey. The firm NuStates/PTV DataSource then will make a follow-up call to ask the questions.

People who receive the letters will have the option of calling a toll-free number or filling out a questionnaire that comes with the letter.

BIG $$ RIDIN’ ON IT – New York Post.