Bogus bodega busts: corrupt Philadelphia cops.

• Author: Balko, Radley
• Position: Citings

BODEGAS ARE convenience stores, usually owned by immigrants, that sell groceries, calling cards, and other sundries, and also sometimes cash paychecks or provide wire services for immigrants to send home remittances. In March the Philadelphia Daily News reported that a rogue narcotics officer and his squad had been terrorizing the shops.

Bodega owners have described at least a dozen shakedowns disguised as drug paraphernalia raids conducted by Officer Jeffrey Cujdik and his colleagues. In each account, Cujdik and his men storm the store with a search warrant, looking not for drugs but for the small resealable plastic bags favored by drug dealers. Under Pennsylvania law, it's a crime to sell ordinary products if the merchant knows or should know that a customer will use them to package illegal drugs.

During the raids, Cujdik's team reportedly disabled the shops' security cameras and confiscated the computers that recorded video from them. The cops then ransacked the bodegas, stealing cigarettes, snacks, soft drinks, and other items. In several cases, they filed police reports that bodega owners say significantly...