Previous entry from January:[NY] Do we fear Officer Curley most, or the systems that keep him an officer? - ...The New Jersey police officers found rifles, ammunition, scopes, a ski mask and a bulletproof vest in the 2007 Chevrolet Malibu...
Recently fired Officer James Curley is scheduled for trial on December 8th. I thought it would be good to get a general idea of what's going on before it starts.
...Curley has been held since June "as a danger to the community and as a flight risk"...
Excerpts from the news since the last January post:
James Curley, 43, of Ramapo is charged with crimes against his estranged wife and people associated with her... "My brother's fighting for his life since this whole nightmare started by his wife," Michael Curley... "He's a broken man," Michael Curley said of his brother. "Mentally, he's hurting"... Curley was wanted in New Milford, N.J., on a property crime charge and failing to appear in court to answer that charge. He was accused of threatening a local doctor and slashing the tires on the doctor's car... a warrant from an Emerson, N.J., court accused Curley of stalking and violating an order of protection to stay clear of his estranged wife, who worked in New Jersey [for a doctor]... Curley faces two counts of second-degree criminal contempt and two counts of bail jumping in Airmont Justice Court... A bench warrant also was issued for Curley's arrest in Suffern Justice Court on a charge of second-degree aggravated harassment. He is accused of threatening two younger female relatives [related to accusations of molesting young relatives? Then in May, Officer Curley] was indicted on federal domestic violence-related charges... two counts of crossing state lines with the intent to either kill, injure or harass another person and stalk that person and place that person under surveillance. Curley is charged in Emerson, N.J., with stalking and violating an order of protection to stay clear of his estranged wife. He is accused of placing a computerized global positioning system on the victim's car for surveillance - an accusation he also faced in Emerson... Curley has had a contentious relationship with Ramapo. The department declined to hire him after his probationary officer period ended because of incidents in the police academy. Curley sued and got his job back several years later, in 1989... A sprained ankle, suffered in 1990 when he fell 8 inches from a plank during construction at the police department, has put Curley out on leave under what's known as "207-c" for most of the past 18 1/2 years. Because this was an on-the-job injury, taxpayers have been giving Curley a full paycheck, now $115,000-plus a year, tax-free...
EXCERPTS
ReplyDeleteCharges detailed against Ramapo cop out on disability
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman slieberm@lohud.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ramapo police released more information yesterday about the accusations that support arrest warrants for James Curley, a town officer who has been out on paid injury leave for nearly 17 years. Curley remained in the Bergen County jail in New Jersey yesterday on charges from his arrest on Friday and from his fugitive-from-justice status in Ramapo. Curley, 43, had been wanted on arrest warrants since late last year on various charges in Ramapo and New Jersey... James Curley's salary for this year as a Ramapo police officer is $115,174. He has been collecting a tax-free paycheck since he went on disability leave in 1990 under New York State 207-c rules for police officers... The 207-c rules exist to allow officers to receive full pay, tax-free, until they can rehabilitate their injuries or when their injuries are so severe that they cannot perform the duties of a police officer... Ramapo police had been looking for Curley for several weeks based on arrest warrants issued in Ramapo and New Jersey, Ramapo Detective Sgt. John Lynch said. Curley also was charged with bail jumping for failure to show up in several courts... Curley was wanted in New Milford, N.J., on a property crime charge and failing to appear in court to answer that charge. He was accused of threatening a local doctor and slashing the tires on the doctor's car, Lynch said. Lynch said a warrant from an Emerson, N.J., court accused Curley of stalking and violating an order of protection to stay clear of his estranged wife, who worked in New Jersey. He was accused of placing a Global Positioning System on her car to track her whereabouts, Lynch said. Curley faces two counts of second-degree criminal contempt and two counts of bail jumping in Airmont Justice Court, Lynch said. A bench warrant also was issued for Curley's arrest in Suffern Justice Court on a charge of second-degree aggravated harassment. He is accused of threatening two younger female relatives, Lynch said. Curley was arrested most recently when a Saddle River, N.J., police officer doing a routine check of cars in a parking lot learned a Chevrolet Malibu had been reported stolen. Curley had rented the car from a business in Wayne, N.J., Lynch said... Curley was charged in New Jersey with aggravated assault on a police officer, receiving stolen property and hindering apprehension or prosecution. He also was charged as a fugitive from justice based on the New York warrants. Michael Curley said his brother didn't steal a car, but had forgotten to make a payment. He also said the other charges were from his brother's wife and the Ramapo police. "He's a broken man," Michael Curley said of his brother. "Mentally, he's hurting." Lynch said the department had rarely been contacted by James Curley's wife and that many of the charges against Curley were related to his family problems. When police arrested Curley on Friday, they found several rifles, ammunition, gun scopes, a ski mask and a bulletproof vest in the car. "We have no idea what his motivation was with the weapons," Lynch said. "We know he's not a hunter"...
Arrest shows flaws in police disablity plan
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman
February 3, 2008
The recent arrest of a Ramapo police officer who has been on paid disability for almost two decades has highlighted some of the problems with the state retirement disability system, police and lawyers said. Ramapo Police Officer James Curley - who was arrested Jan. 25 in New Jersey on outstanding warrants -has remained on disability leave even after the state rejected his five disability retirement applications filed between September 1993 and May 2000, a spokeswoman for the state Comptroller's Office said... In Curley's case, several doctors found his ankle injury over the years to be "a so-called disability," said attorney Richard Glickel, who represents Ramapo in 207-c cases and disability hearings before the retirement system... Michael Curley said his brother's ankle has improved after years of medical treatment, and he wanted to return to work as a police officer. He has said the criminal charges in Ramapo result from problems his brother has had with his estranged wife... Curley, 43, was arrested Jan. 25 in New Jersey on warrants issued in Ramapo and some New Jersey communities. He was charged with additional counts in New Jersey upon his arrest. HE WAS RELEASED FRIDAY from the Bergen County jail on $30,500 bail...
Too good to be true
The Journal News
Saturday, February 9, 2008
...A sprained ankle, suffered in 1990 when he fell 8 inches from a plank during construction at the police department, has put Curley out on leave under what's known as "207-c" for most of the past 18 1/2 years. Because this was an on-the-job injury, taxpayers have been giving Curley a full paycheck, now $115,000-plus a year, tax-free...
Ramapo Town Board fires officer who has not worked in years
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman
Friday, April 11, 2008
RAMAPO -A town police officer who went on paid disability leave with an injured ankle nearly 18 years ago has been fired. The Town Board's unanimous decision means Ramapo will immediately stop paying James P. Curley his tax-free $115,174 annual salary, Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said yesterday. Wednesday's dismissal was based on a hearing officer's findings that Curley violated the department's rules and regulations governing the proper conduct of a police officer... Michael Curley, a Suffern businessman and former New York City firefighter, has said his brother has been prepared for several years to return to work on light duty. The town doesn't put officers on permanent light duty. Curley's recent criminal charges were behind disciplinary charges filed by Police Chief Peter Brower in December. Hearing officer Jonas Gelb, a former Spring Valley justice, cited the charges against Curley in Suffern, Airmont and several New Jersey communities. The disciplinary counts also cited warrants being issued for Curley's arrest on a charge of failing to show up in court. Curley now faces New Jersey charges of resisting arrest and fighting with officers. Gelb also upheld departmental charges that Curley stopped calling in weekly as required. Gelb wrote that Curley was no longer qualified to be a police officer. "The actions of Officer James P. Curley, commencing in 2006 and continuing through the present, demonstrates a disregard for his duties and obligations as a police officer," Gelb wrote. "Instead, those actions evinced a placing of his self-interest ahead of his oath to serve and protect the public and uphold the law"... Curley has had a contentious relationship with Ramapo. The department declined to hire him after his probationary officer period ended because of incidents in the police academy. Curley sued and got his job back several years later, in 1989. The court ruled that police administrators had waited until after his probation ended before dismissing him...
Ex- Ramapo cop indicted on federal charges
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A recently fired Ramapo police officer was indicted yesterday on federal domestic violence-related charges. James Curley, 43, who spent nearly 18 years getting paid tax free while on disability, was arrested Monday by the FBI and Ramapo police on a federal warrant. He was waiting outside Suffern Village Court for an appearance on a local charge when he was arrested. Curley was arraigned yesterday on the three-count indictment by Magistrate Judge George Yantis in U.S. District Court in White Plains. Curley pleaded not guilty after the indictment was unsealed, said John Edwards, a Rockland lawyer who watched the proceedings. He represents Curley on domestic-related charges in Airmont and Suffern... The indictment charges Curley with two counts of crossing state lines with the intent to either kill, injure or harass another person and stalk that person and place that person under surveillance. Curley is charged in Emerson, N.J., with stalking and violating an order of protection to stay clear of his estranged wife. He is accused of placing a computerized global positioning system on the victim's car for surveillance - an accusation he also faced in Emerson. All of this is alleged to have happened between August and October 2006. The indictment also charges Curley with engaging in conduct on Oct. 9, 2006, that violated an order of protection for him to stay away from his wife, who worked in New Jersey for a doctor. Curley is charged in New Milford, N.J., with threatening a local doctor and slashing the tires on the doctor's car, police said. As a result of warrants issued for his arrest after failing to show up in court on those charges, Curley was arrested in January in Ramsey, N.J. As a result of that arrest, Curley was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, receiving stolen property and hindering apprehension or prosecution. Michael Curley said yesterday that his brother was falsely accused of molestation and other charges - some of which were never brought to court. "My brother's fighting for his life since this whole nightmare started by his wife," Michael Curley said. "The Ramapo police are using whatever means possible to bring him down"... On Monday, Curley filed a court action challenging his dismissal as improper.
Federal judge orders ex-cop Curley held without bail
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A federal judge in White Plains yesterday ordered a recently fired Ramapo police officer held without bail on charges related to domestic abuse... FBI agents and Ramapo police arrested Curley on Monday evening outside Suffern Village Court... Yesterday during a bail hearing, Yantis ordered Curley into federal custody pending future hearings before trial...
Ex- Ramapo officer denied bail once more
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman
Saturday, June 21, 2008
A recently fired Ramapo police officer who spent nearly 18 years on disability remained in federal custody yesterday on domestic violence-related charges. James Curley, 43, lost another bid for bail during a detention hearing before U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson in White Plains. Robinson refused to set bail for Curley. The judge felt the former officer posed "a danger to the community and a flight risk," U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Herbert Hadad said. Robinson's decision came after he viewed a DVD provided by the prosecution that showed Curley fleeing New Jersey police officers trying to arrest him on Jan. 25, Hadad said... He fled from the officers, who had to wrestle him down after a chase, police said... U.S. Magistrate Judge George Yantis ordered Curley held without bail in May. Robinson upheld that decision yesterday. Curley's next court date is July 8...
Ex-Ramapo cop's federal trial set for December
The Journal News, Westchester County, NY
Steve Lieberman slieberm@lohud.com
September 27, 2008
A federal judge yesterday scheduled a December trial for a former Ramapo police officer who faces charges related to domestic violence. James Curley, 43, of Ramapo is charged with crimes against his estranged wife and people associated with her, according to a federal indictment... U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson yesterday scheduled Curley's trial for Dec. 8... Curley has been held since June "as a danger to the community and as a flight risk" in federal custody on orders from Robinson... James Curley has filed legal papers seeking to challenge his firing by Ramapo...
I hope he never gets out, The fact that he is getting a retrial and wasting yet more taxpayer's money sickens me. He molested his daughter, negleted his son, and tried to kill his wife. Why would we ever give him a second chance? Just so he can cause more emotional stress to his "estranged" wife? Hasn't she suffered enough. The man is clearly sick if any release from jail should happen it should only be because they are transporting him to a mental hospital to be commited.
ReplyDeleteWhere did it say that he molested his daughter? Was there a conviction for that? That he neglected his son? I assume that there was conviction for that as well. I also find it interesting that there are no updates to the case like that some of the convictions have been overturned, etc...
ReplyDeleteNice to see a one sided site. Considering it says no cop-hating allowed, it seems as though the moderators pick and choose which cops you are allowed to hate... Cool angle!
yes the conviction was overturned, by stupid judges who don't think about the whole story. I know the whole story and the man should be locked up forever - he is a constant threat to many people in Suffern NY
ReplyDelete