Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice, weighed in on the case of disgraced NYPD narcotics detective Joseph Franco in a New York Times article detailing the fallout caused by the 2019 perjury charge he received for fabricating lies about fictional drug sales.

Today, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez moved to vacate as many as 90 drug convictions that had been secured with his testimony – with more apparently on the way – making it one of the largest dismissals of convictions in New York City history.

Criminal justice reform advocates say the case highlights longstanding concerns about official police misconduct during a time of heightened national alarm over accountability and misbehavior at the NYPD. Unfortunately, that conversation will do little to compensate Det. Franco’s victims.

“The damage is done at the point of arrest,” said Luongo. “They likely had bail set on them, spent time at Rikers Island, lost jobs, were separated from their families — no matter what happens, those harms were done.”