By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Prosecutors called a set of last-minute witnesses in their case against two police officers accused of raping a drunk woman in her East Village apartment — in an apparent attempt to put a dent in the officers' credibility.
Jurors, who were prepared to hear closing arguments from both sides Thursday, instead heard from prosecutor witnesses including an EMS worker and an investigator with the DA's office, who each attempted to refute claims made by NYPD officer Kenneth Moreno during his three days on the stand.
Moreno's partner, Franklin Mata, who is accused of serving as a lookout, testified last week.
Prosecutors called EMS worker Manuel Karamanos, who challenged Moreno's claim that one reason he didn't call an ambulance for the heavily intoxicated woman he's accused of raping was because months earlier he'd been with an elderly man who died of cardiac arrest when ambulance workers stopped to assist a drunk person first.
Moreno, 43, also claimed that he had performed CPR on the man before paramedics arrived.
Karamanos told jurors that the elderly man was lying facedown on the floor of his East Village apartment and that no police officers had been there before he and his partner arrived. There was also no drunk person delaying their trip, Karamanos said.
Prosecutors also tried to tear down Moreno's claim that he denied the rape claims when he first met with the DA's office after his 2008 arrest.
"Did he say, 'What she's saying didn't happen'?" Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clarke asked senior DA investigator Edward Tacchi.
Tacchi said that no such statement was made by Moreno, and added that he declined to speak to them and asked for an attorney after hearing he was the target of their investigation.
Moreno and Mata are each charged with rape, burglary and official misconduct. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
The defense rested Thursday. Closing arguments were expected to begin Friday.
