A Manhattan narcotics detective who allegedly gave two different sworn statements following a 2010 drug bust was acquitted Friday on felony perjury charges, police sources told The Post.
Undercover investigator Abel Joseph, 39, appeared relieved when Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber announced the not guilty verdict during a bench trial in Manhattan Supreme Court, a police source said.
If he’d been convicted on the two counts of perjury, Joseph faced up to seven years in prison.
“He looked genuinely relieved because he was completely deflated when the charges were first brought against him,” said the police source, adding, “He’s a real gentleman and an honest worker who believed in the work we were doing.”
Defense lawyer James Moschella told The Post that Joseph was acquitted because he didn’t “willfully” make false statements.
“The judge ruled that although there may have been mistakes with regards to Detective Joseph’s testimony, he never willfully falsified any of his testimony,” Moschella said.
“We still don’t know why the DA’s Office felt this case was criminal in nature,” the attorney said.
The Manhattan DA’s Office declined to comment.
In August 2010, Joseph, an 11-year-veteran of the force, testified before a grand jury that he and his team never lost sight of a PCP pusher, but couldn’t find any buyers.
Joseph changed his tune during a September 2011 hearing, claiming that he arrested and later released several buyers after finding no drugs on them. He also said he lost sight of the dealer.
Because of his conflicting testimony, the case against the suspected drug dealer was dropped.
In 2013, the Manhattan DA’s Office slapped Joseph with perjury charges.
“Perjury in official proceedings is intolerable,” DA Cyrus Vance said at the time. “This detective wasted the time and resources, the court and a grand jury, and the actions for which he stands accused led to a criminal case being dismissed in its entirety.”