Ex-cop’s DWI raises ticket-fixing suspicions

In the hours after James Finnegan, a retired police union trustee, was charged with drunk driving in Kingsbridge on Jan. 24, Police Benevolent Association representatives made calls to the 50th Precinct command and a PBA trustee contacted a supervisor in the Bronx on the driver’s behalf.

The calls may have netted Mr. Finnegan treatment by the police that the Bronx District Attorney’s office called “contrary to procedure.”

Mr. Finnegan pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that stemmed from the incident.

50th Precinct police officers Emma Rodriguez and Tiffany Batista determined the former PBA trustee was drunk when he was found parked in front of the Mei Chung Mei restaurant at 157 W. 231 St. around 9:40 p.m.

The officers reported that Mr. Finnegan’s car was standing in front of a fire hydrant with its headlights on, a key in the ignition and the engine running.

“She observed the defendant to be emanating a moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage from his breath, to be unsteady on his feet in that his body was swaying back and forth, and to have bloodshot and watery eyes,” according to the Bronx District Attorney’s complaint against Mr. Finnegan.

When Mr. Finnegan refused a Breathalyzer test, he was charged with driving with impaired ability and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

“He should have been arrested and processed,” said Steven Reed, a representative of the Bronx District Attorney’s office, referring to the standard protocol in which suspects are brought to Central Booking and arraigned once they turn down a Breathalyzer test.

Instead, Mr. Finnegan was issued a desk appearance ticket, which meant he didn’t have to post bail and wasn’t formally charged until weeks later, on March 14.

It’s unclear what led to the unusual treatment, but a police source said that Joseph Anthony, a current Police Benevolent Association trustee and former 50th Precinct delegate, communicated with a supervisor in the Bronx that night.

PBA representatives also made calls to the 50th Precinct the night of Mr. Finnegan’s arrest, according to the police source.