People v. Greco

187 A.D.2d 151, 593 N.Y.S.2d 360, 1993 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 909
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided February 4, 1993·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Crew III, J.

On April 15, 1987 the Broome County District Attorney submitted an application for an eavesdropping warrant authorizing a wiretap on defendant’s telephone. In support thereof, the District Attorney submitted the sworn affidavit of Detective Theodore Wido, the sworn statement of a confidential informant who had testified under oath before the Judge entertaining the application eight days previously, and reports regarding the results of a pen register used to monitor the activity on the subject phone during the period from April 8, 1987 to April 13, 1987. The affidavit of Wido, as well as the District Attorney’s application, extensively summarized the nature of the testimony provided by the confidential informant and the substance of the information contained in the informant’s sworn statement. On April 16, 1987 Supreme Court issued an eavesdropping warrant. As the result of information derived from the wiretap, a search warrant was issued authorizing a search of defendant’s home. Upon execution of that warrant, defendant was found in possession of approximately two ounces of cocaine and sundry drug paraphernalia. Defendant was subsequently indicted for and convicted of the crimes of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (two counts), criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree (two counts) and conspiracy in the fourth degree.

Among the many points for reversal advanced by defendant on this appeal is the denial of that branch of her omnibus motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of the eavesdropping and search warrants. In consequence of defendant’s motion, an extended pretrial hearing was conducted at which testimony was elicited in support of the warrants. At the conclusion of the hearing, Supreme Court reviewed, in camera, the testimony previously given by the confidential infor[155] mant as well as the informant’s sworn statement and determined that probable cause existed for both warrants.*

Defendant contends that Supreme Court erred in considering the information heard and viewed by the issuing court in camera, in denying her access to that information and in denying her request for disclosure of the identity of the informant. Defendant also contends that the People failed to establish the informant’s basis of knowledge and reliability. We disagree.

Initially, we note that the ex parte determination made by Supreme Court is supported by existing case law (see, People v Castillo, 80 NY2d 578; People v Mullen, 152 AD2d 260; People v Leale, 151 AD2d 611, lv denied 75 NY2d 869). Furthermore, a review of the information provided in the warrant applications together with the confidential informant’s testimony and sworn statement satisfies us that there was probable cause for the issuance of both warrants.

We are also of the opinion that Supreme Court was justified in refusing to disclose the identity of the informant and declining to provide defense counsel with a transcript of the informant’s testimony and sworn statement. The District Attorney, in his initial application, averred that "[t]he confidential informant has been given assurances that his/her identity will always remain anonymous, and that his/her sworn statements will only be subject to in camera judicial review”. As has been noted by the Court of Appeals, ”[t]he weighty considerations countervailing against disclosure of the identity of police informers are evident—'the furtherance and protection of the public interest in effective law enforcement’ * * * Assuring the desirable flow of useful information to the police will, of course, depend on predictable and reliable assurances that anonymity of informers will be preserved” (People v Darden, 34 NY2d 177, 181, quoting Roviaro v United States, 353 US 53, 59). Given the assurances made to the informant in the case at bar, we are of the view that Supreme Court properly refused to disclose the informant’s identity and the in camera testimony and statement, especially in light of the fact that Wido’s affidavit and the District Attorney’s application contained detailed summaries of the facts contained in the informant’s testimony and statement, thereby affording defendant ample opportunity to challenge the claim [156] that the warrant was supported by probable cause (cf., People v Pimental, 182 AD2d 80, 83-84). To the extent that defendant claims deprivation of the right to test the accuracy of the informant’s information, insofar as she thought it relevant to the issue of probable cause, her remedy was to request a Darden hearing at which she could have submitted, in writing, any questions which she desired the Judge to put to the informant (see, People v Darden, supra; People v Leale, supra, at 612). This she failed to do.

Defendant’s contention that she was entitled to disclosure of the informant’s identity pursuant to the dictates of People v Goggins (34 NY2d 163, cert denied 419 US 1012) is also misplaced. Goggins stands for the proposition that where there develops at trial a risk of mistaken identification of the defendant and the informant could play a decisive role in resolving that issue, the prosecution is bound to disclose the informant’s identity or forego further prosecution of the case. Such is not the case here.

We further reject defendant’s contention that there was no basis for the issuing court to determine the informant’s basis of knowledge and reliability as required by Aguilar-Spinelli (see, Aguilar v Texas, 378 US 108; Spinelli v United States, 393 US 410). To the contrary, the affidavit in support of the eavesdropping warrant clearly reflected the informant’s basis of knowledge and the informant’s credibility was corroborated by the pen register analysis. Furthermore, it is now firmly established that the sworn testimony and/or affidavit of an informant recounting his or her personal observations will support the issuance of a warrant without extrinsic evidence of the informant’s reliability (see, People v Santarelli, 148 AD2d 775).

Before moving on to defendant’s other contentions, we must consider the relevance to this case of the Court of Appeals’ recent decision in People v Liberatore (79 NY2d 208). While defendant did not specifically complain of the People’s failure to comply with the notice provisions of CPL 700.70, she did complain in her omnibus motion of the failure to provide the in camera information "under Articles 690 and 700 of the Criminal Procedure Law”. Given her continued objection to the use of that information at the trial level and on appeal, we are constrained to consider this matter in the context of Liberatore.

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People v. Greco, 187 A.D.2d 151, 593 N.Y.S.2d 360, 1993 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 909 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1993).

187 A.D.2d 151 (People v. Greco) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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