Bloomberg Dodges Questions On Bronx Ticket Fixing Allegations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With about two dozen Bronx NYPD officers facing possible criminal charges for ticket fixing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ducked direct questions about the issue on Monday.
"In terms of this investigation, it's an ongoing investigation. I'm not going to comment on it at all," Bloomberg said.
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However, Bloomberg did make mention of an electronic system used by the police department that he said made it inconceivable to fix a ticket.
"The practice of just calling up and saying 'can you fix a ticket for me,' really isn't possible anymore because once something is in the database electronically, there's somebody that can look to see what was removed and go and see why," Bloomberg told 1010 WINS' Stan Brooks.
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Bloomberg said ticket fixing was a problem in the past, but is unlikely to be a major issue today.
Last week, sources said grand jury indictments targeting as many as 40 police officers were expected to come shortly.
Those sources also indicated that NYPD Internal Affairs investigators have been secretly wire-tapping calls made to and from dozens of police officers and reportedly have thousands of hours of tapes.
The case reportedly started by accident. The owner of a barbershop not far from the 43d Precinct in the Bronx apparently called his cop son to see about fixing a ticket. That phone call was being tapped by Internal Affairs officers, who were investigating local drug trafficking, according to CBS 2's Marcia Kramer.
Though Bloomberg was adamant about ticket fixing being "almost impossible," the mayor did admit "there's always the possibility of somebody scamming any system."
"You can never make it a 100 percent bulletproof," he said.
