Life behind bars for Tepper, but with a pension

FRANK TEPPER will spend the rest of his life behind bars, but, as things stand now, the 45-year-old, disgraced ex-cop will be receiving an estimated monthly city pension of $1,791.

That's because Tepper, convicted yesterday of first-degree murder, was off duty when he shot and killed a Port Richmond neighbor, William Panas Jr., 21, during a 2009 street brawl.

City law says that employees can be disqualified from a pension only if they commit certain offenses in the performance of a public office.

Francis Bielli, executive director of the Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement, said that the city's Law Department will review Tepper's conviction and report back to the pension board. Tepper won't begin receiving the payments until March 2016, when he turns 50, his normal retirement age, Bielli said.

A Daily News series last year revealed that at least eight convicted felons were receiving city pensions and that many of them had never been reviewed for disqualification. Six pensioners were later removed from the system.

Yesterday at the Criminal Justice Center, tears of joy and of sorrow fell in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was announced.

Tepper's wife and daughter screamed out in agony as the verdict was read and were ejected from the packed courtroom.

Moments later, in front of the courthouse, William Panas Sr., supported by his wife, Karen, dropped to his knees, looked skyward and shouted that justice had prevailed.

After composing himself, Panas Sr. said: "It ain't gonna bring our boy back, but, you know what, my son is looking down right now saying, 'Good job, Mom and Dad, and the community. Thank you for standing behind me when I was shot dead and murdered.' "

Common Pleas Judge Shelley Robins New set Tepper's sentencing for March 29, but the first-degree murder conviction means that Tepper will receive a mandatory life term without parole.

While the jury of eight women and four men deliberated Tepper's fate, he never stood a chance, according to a 57-year-old male juror who spoke exclusively to the Daily News after leaving the courthouse.

"Basically, we think the prosecution pretty much had a cut-and-dried case," the juror said. "There was very little in the way of any kind of exonerating evidence.

"We were mostly unanimous the first day. A couple people were kind of kicking around the finer points of the law - 'What does this mean?' We asked the judge to clarify a couple of points, and at that point we were unanimous that we had found the only real verdict that we could have found from the evidence."

Tepper, a 16-year Police Department veteran, and Panas Jr. crossed paths the night of Nov. 21, 2009, when a fight erupted in front of Tepper's Elkhart Street home.

Tepper, who was drunk, emerged from his home with a handgun as Panas and some of his friends from the same neighborhood were fighting some of Tepper's friends and relatives.

Tepper shot the unarmed Panas Jr. in the chest after the younger man bruised Tepper's ego by daring him to shoot, Assistant District Attorney Michael Barry told the jury.

Defense attorney Fortunato Perri Jr. argued that Tepper had shot in self-defense after Panas Jr.'s friends jumped him and busted his lip. There was no evidence presented during the trial that Panas Jr. had hit Tepper.

"It was the right verdict," Barry said outside court. "No matter who you are, you're not above the law. I'm glad the jury was able to see it the right way."

Perri declined to say if he would appeal. "There are no winners and no losers in this case," he said. "There will never be, and I said that from the beginning."