Monday, January 31, 2011

2 Cops Arrested In Philadelphia




The headaches just keep on coming for the Philadelphia Police Department.

Two officers were recently arrested and kicked off the job in separate incidents, authorities said yesterday.

Officer Brien Greene, 27, walked into a doughnut shop on 52nd Street near Market on Jan. 11 and became enraged at a female employee who was talking on the phone, a law-enforcement source said.

Greene allegedly threw a trash can at the woman and another employee, pulled out a gun and said, "I'll f------ shoot you," the source said.

The three-year veteran of the force, who worked in Nicetown's 39th District, was charged Thursday with aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and related offenses, police said. He was suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss.

Also gone from the force is Officer Nicholas Adelizzi, who was caught stealing a $25 bottle of CoQ10, a dietary supplement, from a nutrition store on Grant Avenue near Academy Road on Jan. 10, the District Attorney's Office said.

Adelizzi, 24, who worked in South Philadelphia's 17th District, was charged with retail theft.

He graduated from the Police Academy in May, along with 31 other "lateral hires" - cops who had worked at other police departments. Adelizzi was previously a cop in Upland Borough, Delaware County.

Police said he will be rejected for permanent employment.

Last year, 11 police officers were arrested on charges that included murder, extortion and robbery.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey previously said he expected more cops to be arrested this year because of ongoing corruption investigations.