Portside

More than 300 New Yorkers convicted on the word of crooked cops are on their way to getting their records cleared, the latest effort by law enforcement to right its own wrongs.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office says between 1996 and 2017, 316 people were unjustly tied up in the legal system in the borough — with 57 of them landing behind bars — in cases tied to convicted former NYPD detectives, sergeants and officers Johnny Diaz, William Eiseman, Richard Hall, Michael Carsey, Jason Arbeeny, Michael Arenella, Nicholas Mina, Oscar Sandino, and Michael Foder.

“These cases represent hundreds of New Yorkers who have been living with the serious costs that come with a conviction, including barriers to employment, housing and education,” DA Alvin Bragg said.

“Beyond these devastating impacts on the individuals directly impacted, our city is collectively harmed when we prevent our friends, family and neighbors from living stable and successful lives,” he added.

Bragg’s office moved to dismiss 306 misdemeanors for due process violations at a Tuesday court appearance and will address felony cases on Wednesday.

The Manhattan cases are among 1,100 that Bragg’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit is reviewing, tied to 22 former NYPD officers. The Brooklyn district attorney in September moved to vacate nearly 378 criminal convictions tied to 13 corrupt NYPD officers.

The vacated convictions comprise 308 misdemeanors and eight felonies. More than 95% of those who were wrongfully convicted were Black and Hispanic, according to the Manhattan DA.

Bragg’s office previously vacated 188 convictions tied to eight of the nine officers. Sandino is the newest addition, tallying 19 bogus cases. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2011 after his federal conviction for coerced sexual misconduct against two women in custody, depriving them of their civil rights.

The largest number of cases were tied to Diaz, with prosecutors moving to vacate 129 connected to the ex-officer sentenced to six years’ prison time in 2018 for transporting cocaine and accepting bribes and gifts from an undercover posing as a drug dealer.

Twenty-seven cases were connected to Hall, sentenced to five years’ probation in 2019 for releasing an 18-year-old from custody in exchange for sexual favors.

Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney of the Wrongful Conviction Unit at the Legal Aid Society, welcomed the move and called on all of the city’s district attorneys to conduct such reviews on a rolling basis.

“While we hope that this moment delivers some justice and closure to the New Yorkers impacted by these tactics, the sad reality is that many were forced to suffer incarceration, hefty legal fees, loss of employment, housing instability, severed access to critical benefits and other collateral consequences,” Felber said.

“The same lens used on our clients charged with criminal conduct must be applied to those in law enforcement,” she added.

Molly Crane-Newman covers the Manhattan federal and state courts for the New York Daily News.