Recent Blog Posts

"Where's the money?!" cried the City

Margo Gannes/Emilie Cruz — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:35:00 GMT

I'd hate to sound like a broken record, but once again the consequences of the ticket fixing scandal are showing their ugly faces.

With all the potential punishment and scrutiny New York officers are facing, they are being much more selective with their ticket writing. Their selectivity has resulted in a great decrease in the overall amount of tickets being written and, ultimately, resulting in a greater decrease in city revenue. In fact, the city is losing nearly ONE MILLION dollars a week.

The drastic ticket writing drop started last month after cops were told they could lose up to 10 vacation days if they are unable to present the proper paperwork connected to a moving violation ticket. Head officials are now reconsidering changing the punishment to three days for the first offense, five for a second and eight for a third.
The Post also reports that the ticket slowdown has prompted some bosses to threaten to ride along with cops so that they'll be pressured to issue more tickets.

However they solve this problem, one thing is clear: don't mess with the city's money!

If you receive a traffic ticket, contact Gannes and Musico, LLP. We are New York City's traffic lawyers and we can help!

Backlash of ticket fixing scandal continues to be felt by NYPD

Margo Gannes — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:00:00 GMT

How do you punish a person for committing offenses in the workplace? Dock their vacation time, of course.

That is exactly what the new "harsh" punishment plan for New York police officers consist of if their moving violations get tossed in court because of faulty paperwork. The penalties and their ranges are as followed: there may be a loss of two to five vacation days for the first offense, and up to eight days for the third strike. Any further offenses will result in the officer facing departmental charges.

According to a memo The Post received, the punishment for the first offense with be three lost vacation days in most cases. The penalty will increase through the range depending on the officers' disciplinary record. Another contributing factor will be how many tickets the individual officer writes; cops who write a lot of tickets will be viewed more favorably when it comes to punishment.

It is no surprise at all that the officers' general response to the new system is less than joyous. One queens officer is in fact quoted as calling the new system as "bulls—t." Cops are now being very selective with the type of tickets they write.

"We're now writing parking violations instead of moving violations," one officer is quoted saying, "so we don't have to go to court and face a judge and maybe lose days."

The chain reaction that follows their decision to be more selective is rather crucial. Their selectivity is resulting in a great decrease in the amount of tickets written and, ultimately, a great decrease in revenue for the city. I think it may be safe to say that we haven't heard the last of this ticket fixing scandal and its consequences.

If you receive a traffic ticket, contact Gannes and Musico, LLP. We are New York City's traffic lawyers and we can help!

To write a traffic violation, or not to write a traffic violation?

Margo Gannes — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:15:00 GMT

After the recent ticket-fixing scandal - tickets were allegedly fixed when officers who wrote them were persuaded to skip scheduled appearances, or to interfere with cases by admitting forgetfulness when asked to describe the traffic stop - that has left as many as 40 officers facing criminal charges, the police department's Internal Affairs Bureau has cracked the whip on their officers' performances at traffic court cases.

In the past, officers have had nothing at stake when it came to the traffic court cases, resulting in rather laid back, freewheeling performances. With the ongoing investigations in place, however, one false move like forgetting a certain detail at the traffic stop - no matter how genuine the confession of forgetfulness is - can lead to suspicion. This especially poses an issue due to the fact that the traffic cases occur as long as years after the traffic stop - how can anyone recall vivid details from years in the past?

With all the officers practically walking on eggshells in the traffic courts, there is one proposed solution: write fewer tickets. Although this would, according to the New York Times, "undermine the police department's push to squeeze as much productivity as possible," statistics have shown that there has been an 11 percent drop from last year to this year in summonses for moving violations written. The New York Times has even quoted one law enforcement analyst to be saying "[this investigation is] setting this up in a way that there is not going to be a cop out there who wants to write a summons - it is too personally risky."

Fewer tickets, or the risk of lying at traffic court in order to avoid suspicion? This choice between two poisons is what it ultimately boils down to. Some fear that with the pressure of the close magnifying glass this investigation is putting on the officers, some officers might be tempted to simply fabricate the details they do not remember. Edward M. Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association is quoted inquiring whether or not the Internal Affairs Bureau is "inadvertently creating an atmosphere of perjury where an officer can't remember but, because of fear of disciplinary action, creates that memory?"

The investigation does not seem to be slowing down any time soon, but there is one thing that can slow down: the process of ticket writing. Officers do not need to give up ticket writing altogether, but rather be sure they have sufficient notes to avoid suspicion or the temptation to lie when it is time for their traffic court case.

Welcome to Our New York Traffic Ticket Blog

Gannes & Musico — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:32:00 GMT

Our attorneys are pleased to announce the launch of our traffic ticket blog.