Carnright confirmed the letter’s authenticity. However, he pointed out that his office does not engage in plea bargaining in cases before Williams. Williams distaste for the practice dates to his tenure asUlster’s district attorney; as judge he has routinely rejected efforts by prosecutors to allow defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges in order to avoid a trial (and, in the Clean Sweep cases, the potential exposure of undercover cops and informers). Instead, Carnright said, prosecutors could strike a deal with the defense to recommend a lower sentence once the defendant pleads guilty to the most serious charge in the indictment.
According to Kingston Police Detective Sgt. Brian Robertson, cops on the street are keeping close watch for any attempt to identify, intimidate or harm informants in the Clean Sweep cases. In some cases, Robertson said, confidential informants are relocated using the same police investigative funds used to make undercover drug buys and pay informants.
“Some people say they know the risks and they’ll deal with it, some people will say I want out of here, some people will go away for a few years and then come back,” said Robertson. “But it’s a constant concern for us because these guys are actively trying to figure out who set them up and how.”
This can’t be a surprise. This can’t be the first time ever that undercover people have been filmed. One has to wonder, was this a problem in that first case that the jury did not convict on?
Has to be a question on everyones minds: how many cases of the whole pack depend on the video taken? Of the total number of cases, how many cases can be prosecuted without exposing undercover people?
Personally, I do not have confidence in Carnright. Most recently, the “suspect” in the shotgun incident on O’Neil, out on the streets, was a two time offender, and let out, twice, by Carnright. And it was Carnright that failed to detect any problems in the Kingston Police and Carnright that let the Mid Town Sunoco give cash for stamps for 2 years before bringing the case, drawing all sorts of crime to that location.