IRVINGTON COP SAFEGUARDED DRUG DEALERS

A veteran Irvington police officer yesterday admitted to holding down an
unusual second job -- "riding shotgun" for drug dealers, protecting them as
they ferried money and narcotics.

Wendell Huggins, 34, a 10-year member of the force, confessed in federal
court in Newark that on at least four off-duty occasions, he carried his
service revolver while accompanying drug dealers as they made trips between
narcotics locations in Jersey City and Essex County.

During a hearing before U.S. District Judge William Walls, Huggins
acknowledged that he destroyed his own career for what amounted to chump
change. He received $200 to $350 a trip and accepted payoffs totaling about
$1,000, which he has already agreed to repay as restitution.

Walls, who described Huggins' action as "riding shotgun," asked the burly,
soft-spoken cop: "Was it worth it?"

Huggins paused, and then replied softly, "No, it was not."

"As a police officer, did you really think you could get away with it? . . .
Was it stupid?"

"Yes, sir," Huggins acknowledged.

According to a government affidavit filed as part of the case, Huggins'
involvement with drug dealers was brought to light early last year when he
stumbled into an FBI "sting" stemming from an investigation into allegations
of police corruption in Essex County.

He was caught on tape discussing his fee for providing protection for the
unnamed drug dealers, some of whom were working as government informants.

"You can just give me something good, so, I mean, I don't complain," Huggins
was recorded saying.

Confronted with evidence of his corrupt activities, Huggins began secretly
cooperating with the FBI and agreed to wear a concealed microphone while
gathering evidence in a probe of alleged payoffs to cops, according to a
source close to the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Clark declined to divulge details of the
probe, except to confirm that it is continuing.

In addition to agreeing to provide protection for the drug traffickers,
Huggins also admitted to illegally collecting a $50 fee from an operator of
a local nightspot, the Crystal Club on Stuyvesant Avenue in Irvington, to
help disperse crowds while in uniform during the early morning hours last
spring.

Huggins pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit extortion
by using his badge to obtain payoffs.

Under the law, Huggins could face up to 20 years in prison for his offenses,
but because he is seeking leniency in return for his cooperation, the actual
sentence is expected to be much less.

"He's a good cop who made a bad mistake," Huggins' lawyer, Anthony Fusco
Jr., said after the hearing. "And now he's going to pay the price."

Married and the father of two children, Huggins was born in Trinidad and
immigrated to the United States in 1972 when he was 7. He graduated from
Irvington High School, eventually became a naturalized citizen and served in
the U.S. Navy Reserves.

Huggins joined the 170-member Irvington department with a class of 21
recruits in February 1990.

Irvington Police Director Robert Rankin described Huggins' performance as
fair.

"His work efforts were not poor. He was often late, and he had an absentee
record that was not the best."

After the hearing yesterday, Huggins handed in his resignation, but it was
not accepted for technical reasons, said Irvington Police Chief Steven
Palamara.

Huggins was suspended without pay, and, under civil service rules, he is
entitled to a hearing within five days, Palamara said. After that period,
however, if the officer has not requested such a hearing, he will be fired.

Rankin said he does not anticipate any further charges being lodged against
Irvington police officers as a result of the probe.

"Initially, we were trying to determine whether we had a widespread
problem," he said. "Thank God, we found out that we don't. The department
has not been tarnished by this one individual."

Staff writer Reginald Roberts contributed to this report.