CAPTAIN IS FIRED AFTER VERDICT IN POLICE TRIAL

One of the highest-ranking New York City police officials ever
indicted in a drug corruption case was fired yesterday, the
authorities said last night.

The official, Dennis M. Sindone, 40, was a deputy inspector when he
was arrested in May 2001 on a drug-related corruption charge, and was
demoted to captain. He was acquitted by a federal jury in March, but
still faced the possibility of departmental charges.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly dismissed Mr. Sindone based on
findings from a departmental judge, said Deputy Commissioner Michael
P. O'Looney, the department's chief spokesman.

Mr. Sindone was accused of conspiring with a fellow officer and a drug
dealer to steal $60,000 from a drug supplier in 1996. He was charged
with one count of violating the civil rights of the drug supplier
whose money was stolen.

Mr. Sindone's lawyer, James Culleton, told The Associated Press that
the departmental judge, Rae Koshetz, had relied on the word of an
admittedly crooked cop and a drug dealer.

"It's a shame. To say we're disappointed is an understatement," said
Mr. Culleton, who added that his client was a month away from being
able to retire with a pension after 20 years on the force. "They
should at least have let him retire."

In Mr. Sindone's federal trial, the prosecution's case was based
heavily on the testimony of Robert Noyer, a former police officer who
said he and Captain Sindone had committed the robbery together.

Mr. Noyer said the two men pretended to arrest Jose Tavares, a drug
dealer with whom Mr. Noyer was friendly, just as Mr. Tavares was about
to deliver cash to a drug supplier on July 2, 1996. With bystanders
watching, the two officers handcuffed the dealer and drove off with
him in a police car, Mr. Noyer testified, adding that they then
uncuffed and released him and divided the money.