COP'S FILE INCLUDES GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

Behind-Scenes Work On Sex Film Blasted

As New Orleans police careers go, the file on Lt. Bruce Little is thicker,
and certainly a lot more colorful, than most. He's been suspended for
brawling with a police captain outside of a bar. He was reprimanded for
busting into the wrong house in a drug raid. He once violated department
rules by distributing a carload of confiscated items -- including a
television, power tools and bottles of liquor -- at a district station
instead of placing them in the Central Evidence Room.

Despite the uneven career trajectory, Little's hard-charging approach to
crime-fighting has earned the respect of high-ranking and influential
colleagues during his 21 years with the New Orleans Police Department,
enough to catapult him up the chain of command to lieutenant.

Little's latest brush with the departmental rule book, however, may prove
to be more than a speed bump: He appeared, however unwittingly, in an
X-rated movie featuring naked women fondling each other.

As it turns out, Little coordinated a private security detail for a film
crew that was shooting a movie in February 2002 during Carnival. The
detail, submitted by Little and approved by his superiors, appeared on
paper to be a routine film project that required police presence. But once
the film popped up for sale on the Internet as "Mardi Gras Xposed," the
Metropolitan Crime Commission caught wind of Little's cameo appearance, and
the watchdog group filed a complaint with the department.

In one scene, two women are groping each other when the camera pans the
room and shows Little and others observing the action. The crime commission
thinks Little and the rest of the film crew violated the state's obscenity
law, which prohibits involvement in "hard-core sexual conduct" that "lacks
serious, literary, artistic, political or scientific value."

"What we saw was disturbing," said Crime Commission Vice President Anthony
Radosti. "In one scene, officer Little is craning his neck to watch two
girls having sex on a bed. It's something that tarnishes the badge and
embarrasses the city."

Facing criminal review

The investigation recently broadened to include possible criminal
violations and is about to be turned over to the district attorney's
office, police spokesman Capt. Marlon Defillo said. Prosecutors will be
asked to determine if Little violated any state pornography laws, Defillo said.

"If it does have criminal implications, they (the DA's office ) will
proceed with that case. If it doesn't, we will proceed with an
administrative investigation to determine if internal policies were
violated," Defillo said.

Little was pulled off the street when the investigation began and remains
at a desk job, Defillo said. Two other officers who worked the private
security detail, Daniel McMullen and Jeff Jacob, are part of the
administrative probe but have not been reassigned and are not subjects of
the criminal inquiry. None of the officers could be reached for comment.

Like previous investigations involving Little, this one has sparked a
debate within the department between his supporters and detractors. Some
commanders think Little has crossed the line once too often and needs to
go, while others are lobbying to keep him because they feel his impact on
the street outweighs his disciplinary file. His checkerboard resume
includes departmental awards and promotions that overlap with various
investigations and suspensions.

Putting 'his life on the line'

His most recent commendation was in 2000 when he and several other officers
were given medals of achievement for work with the 5th District narcotics
task force, which was credited with 312 drug arrests over a one-year period.

Lt. David Benelli, president of the Police Association of New Orleans, has
been one of Little's staunchest defenders. He said the department would
already have taken action if there was substantial evidence of a violation.

"If they haven't figured it out yet, there must not be much there," Benelli
said. "The fact that it's been dragging on this long tells me they don't
know what they have."

Benelli said Little ranks as one of the department's most productive
narcotics officers, working the street nearly his entire career.

"He deals with narcotics like nobody else in this department," he said.
"He's put his life on the line so many times it's not even funny. He's a
brave cop, and his work ethic is unquestioned."

Another officer, who requested anonymity, said, "You either like him or you
don't, there's no in between. But I'll tell you this: I've never met
anybody who was as active on the street as he was."

The crime commission also has been subjected to lobbying from people with
varying opinions of Little. Commission President Rafael Goyeneche praised
the department's Public Integrity Division for ignoring the internal debate
about the officer and focusing strictly on the facts of the case.

Making waves

Little has always stood out within the department for his strong
personality, loud motorcycle and ever-present cowboy boots. His
disciplinary file also has attracted its share of attention. Civil service
records show four suspensions and three reprimands since 1985, along with
11 complaints from citizens that were dropped for lack of evidence or
withdrawn. In 1997, a municipal battery complaint was filed against Little
by a girlfriend, but she later dropped the charge, records show.

Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano was the commander of the NOPD's Public
Integrity Division unit during several investigations of Little. He said
Little's name surfaced frequently enough to raise a red flag, despite the
accolades he received from commanding officers.

"He came to our attention on many occasions," Loicano said, "and some of
the allegations were a serious concern to us in PID. On the other side of
the coin, he did have a reputation as a hard-working and aggressive police
officer."

One case that has become a part of department lore is the bare-knuckled
fight between then-Sgt. Little and Capt. Anthony Genovese in 1997. Police
files show that Little initiated a confrontation with Genovese outside a
Mid-City bar because Genovese teased him about a girlfriend.

The fight at the Beach Corner Bar & Grill left both officers bloodied,
according to a report, and resulted in suspensions for Little, Genovese and
a third officer who intervened in the fight, then-Sgt. Joel Porretto.

An internal report of the fight gave a blow-by-blow account.

"Both said some of the punches were open-handed slaps and some were not,"
the report states. "Each apparently connected a couple of times . . .
Sergeant Little had obvious injuries to his facial area as evidenced by
blood. Captain Anthony Genovese had an injury to his right index finger
that was bleeding, and he was winded and red in the face."

Incidents mount

The 1997 fight was followed by a one-day suspension in 1999 for what was
deemed a preventable auto accident, a five-day suspension in 2000 for
keeping confiscated evidence at a district station, and a reprimand in 2001
for raiding the wrong house in a drug sweep. In the botched raid, Little
led about 10 officers into a house, with guns drawn, before realizing the
target house was across the street.

In 2002, Little was promoted to lieutenant.

As for the X-rated movie investigation, sources said Little explained his
actions by saying he left the movie set as soon as he realized what was
taking place. A member of the film crew, however, gave a contradictory
statement, saying Little was present during many sex scenes that could
never be shown on television, including cable.

Regardless of the outcome for Little, the case has led to a new internal
policy. Now, film companies must submit their script to the department
before a police officer is allowed to sign on for a security detail.