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Judge warns Philly officers against intimidating witnesses

A federal judge Thursday ordered six narcotics officers recently acquitted of corruption charges not to have contact with any former defendants who have sued them and the city over their arrests.

A federal judge Thursday ordered six narcotics officers recently acquitted of corruption charges not to have contact with any former defendants who have sued them and the city over their arrests.

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond said he was issuing the order after an attorney for one of the former defendants complained that Officer Thomas Liciardello, who was acquitted in a federal corruption case last year, had inappropriately tried to speak with his client.

Diamond had previously ordered that Liciardello and the five other officers acquitted in the 2015 case have no contact with former Officer Jeffrey Walker, who was a member of their narcotics unit. He was a government witness in last year's case against his former colleagues and now is testifying in the deposition about alleged malfeasance by the six.

Walker pleaded guilty in 2014 to robbing a drug dealer and was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison.

Since his release, Walker has been cooperating with attorneys for some of the plaintiffs in upwards of 300 lawsuits brought against the city and the members of Walker's unit. He currently is testifying in an unusual public deposition in Diamond's courtroom.

Walker has said he fears for his safety. Last month, during a lunch break in the initial days of his deposition, one of the officers approached Walker in a restaurant and took a seat next to him.

An attorney promptly told Diamond that it appeared to be an effort to intimidate Walker, and the judge issued a warning that he would take action if he believed there was any witness intimidation.

In a telephone call with the lawyers attending Walker's deposition Thursday, Diamond said that if police violate his order, he will hold them in contempt.

Liciardello, who was reinstated as a police officer after his acquittal, has been in the court audience during Walker's deposition. He declined to comment after the judge's order.

In addition to Liciardello, the acquitted officers are Brian Reynolds, Michael Spicer, Perry Betts, Linwood Norman, and John Speiser. All were reinstated. Betts has since retired.

The six were acquitted of framing people with perjured testimony and stealing from drug dealers.

Despite their acquittals, they face a growing number of civil lawsuits from people they had arrested. In Thursday's session, attorneys told Diamond the number of suits has reached 300.

Diamond has designated a small group of those suits as "bellwether" cases, expected to set the tone for any settlements the city will need to pay. The city recently settled the first of the bellwether cases for $625,000.

The plaintiff who said he was inappropriately approached by Liciardello is James Graves, 47, who lives in Center City. He was outside the courtroom during Thursday's session but did not enter.

In an interview, Graves said Liciardello arrested him in 2009 and 2011, and the cases were dismissed.

Graves said Liciardello has repeatedly tried to engage him in conversation since he filed his lawsuit against the officer. He said the officer did not threaten him, but he did not want the contacts to continue.

Graves said the latest incident was several days ago, and he complained to his attorney, Michael Pileggi, who asked Diamond to intervene.

mfazlollah@phillynews.com

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