Officers charged

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Thomas Liciardello

Brian Reynolds

Two police officers with South Philly addresses were among the six members of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Narcotics Field Unit named in a 42-page indictment released on July 30. Between February 2006 and November ’12, Thomas Liciardello and Brian Reynolds, both bearing 19145 zip codes, according to U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Patricia Hartman, supposedly engaged in a racketeering conspiracy that included drug dealing, extortion, kidnapping and robbery.

In the first and lengthiest count of the document, which authorities helped to compile with assistance from Jeffrey Walker, a former officer who cooperated with law enforcement figures after telling a federal judge he planted nearly 28 grams of cocaine in a South Philly drug dealer’s car last year before stealing $15,000 and five pounds of marijuana from his house, the grand jury contends Liciardello, Reynolds and their peers regularly defied the precepts of their professions by intimidating, robbing and assaulting individuals, with four of the episodes occurring in South Philly. The report notes that Liciardello, a 38-year-old who joined the force in 1995, acted as the ringleader, with Reynolds, a 43-year-old and ’93 hire, often engaging in the aforementioned acts with him and the others. The document also posits that Liciardello falsely stated the amount of seizures or completely neglected to document them in composing department reports. He faces a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison, up to life; a fine up to $4.5 million; an $1,800 special assessment; and five years of supervised release. Reynolds faces a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison, up to life; a fine up to $2.25 million; a $900 special assessment; and five years of supervised release.

Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.

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