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Probe of Philadelphia officer causes case to be dropped

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office dismissed yesterday more than a dozen drug and gun charges against a Kensington man, in what is believed to be the first case dropped because of the ongoing investigation of narcotics officer Jeffrey Cujdik.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office dismissed yesterday more than a dozen drug and gun charges against a Kensington man, in what is believed to be the first case dropped because of the ongoing investigation of narcotics officer Jeffrey Cujdik.

Common Pleas Court Judge Jack A. Snite Jr. approved the dismissal of charges against Harold Cancel, 35, but allowed the prosecutor to refile if the probe's outcome makes that possible. The Cancel case was hitting the deadline by which it had to be tried. Scores more cases resulting from the work of the veteran narcotics officer could soon be in the same place.

Early this year, Cujdik, 34, a police officer since 1997, was assigned to desk duty and surrendered his service weapon after his long-time paid confidential informant, Ventura Martinez, publicly alleged that he and Cujdik sometimes made up information needed to persuade judges to sign search warrants for homes and cars of suspects.

The Cancel case is not one of those in which Cujdik's sworn affidavit backing the search warrant has been questioned. Instead, in what could become a more ominous problem for prosecutors, the 2007 case simply ran out of time under speedy-trial rules.

Because of the investigation, prosecutors have assumed that Cujdik would be unable to testify without possibly incriminating himself. For that reason, the District Attorney's Office has routinely sought delays in Cujdik's pending cases.

Cujdik's attorney has called Martinez's allegations lies by a career criminal trying to retaliate against his former police handler.

A task force that includes FBI and Internal Affairs investigators has been looking into the allegations for three months. No one has been charged, but police officials have since assigned two other veteran narcotics officers to desk work: Richard L. Cujdik, 35, a 13-year police veteran who is Cujdik's brother, and Robert McDonnell Jr., 38, an officer since 1993 who often partnered with Jeffrey Cujdik and Martinez.

The Philadelphia Public Defender's Office has identified 52 cases it says were based on bogus search warrants, and has petitioned to dismiss the cases or hold new trials.

Yesterday, according to Cancel's attorney, Perry deMarco Sr., Snite ruled that Cancel's case had to be tried by May 27, a date that almost certainly will pass before the task force probe is done.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Levenberg declined to discuss the decision or whether his office might refile the charges: "We asked for the continuance awaiting the outcome of the investigation. The judge refused and so we decided to withdraw the charges. I really don't want to go beyond that."

According to court documents, Cancel's Dec. 11, 2007, arrest came three days after Cujdik was contacted by Martinez - identified in records as CI 103 - and told that $5 bags of marijuana were being sold from inside a house in the 1900 block of East Thayer Street.

Between 6 and 8 p.m. Dec. 8, 2007, according to Cujdik's sworn affidavit, Martinez - with McDonnell as a witness - was given marked money and bought marijuana from a man inside the house.

Cancel, who had a brief, unsuccessful career as a professional featherweight boxer from 2001 to 2003, was arrested by police on the enclosed front porch of the house in an incident that ended with Cancel's going through a glass window and being apprehended on the sidewalk.

Charges against Cancel included drug violations, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, disarming a police officer, and simple and aggravated assault. He was released Dec. 22, 2007, after posting $50,000 bail.

Court records show that Cancel has an arrest record dating to 1996 but just one prior conviction for drug possession, for which he served a year on probation.