MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — An emergency order from an appeals court judge wasn't enough to get ex-cop Kenneth Moreno out of jail on Monday, after a lower court judge refused to sign his bond because it was too late, his lawyer said.
Moreno, 43, was sentenced to one year in jail for official misconduct Monday morning by State Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro, who blasted him for breaking the public trust for his conduct in a 2008 incident involving an intoxicated woman in her East Village apartment.
Immediately after Moreno was brought into a holding cell Monday, his lawyers headed to an appeals court, where Judge Nelson Roman granted an emergency order for the release of the former veteran East Village cop pending his appeal.
Yet, instead of going home free with his family as he'd hoped, Moreno spent Monday night at Rikers Island jail because Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Abraham Clott refused to sign off on Moreno's bail bond when approached by the bondsman at about 8 p.m.
The judge told the parties he could not sign the bond because the case file was unavailable at the late hour, Moreno's attorney Chad Seigel said.
"I don't know why [having the file] was necessary. I don't see why a judge couldn't sign off on a bond without having the file there especially with an appellate court order," Seigel said.
Seigel could not comment on the former police officer's night behind bars.
The Office of Court Administration, which oversees the city's courts, said it's "routine" for a judge to require the case file to be in front of him before making a decision.
"That is the normal procedure, if he doesn't have the file he wouldn't sign off on the bond. He wants to make sure he has all the information," said OCA spokeswoman Arlene Hackel. "It's routine there's nothing unusual in what happened."
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Corrections Department website said Moreno was still in custody. Seigel that Moreno's family was en route to Rikers to post bail Tuesday afternoon.
Seigel also accused prosecutors of delaying Monday afternoon's proceeding so that Moreno would likely have trouble getting out of jail after business hours.
The assistant district attorneys on the case hopped in a cab to the appellate court at Madison Avenue and 25th Street as soon as they were summoned, according to the DA's office.
Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clarke opposed Moreno's release pending his appeal on the grounds that he was a flight risk.
Moreno and his partner, Franklin Mata, 29, had were convicted only of three counts a piece of official misconduct for entering the accuser's East 13th Street apartment without approval from their supervisors on Dec. 7, 2008.
Moreno was accused of taking advantage of the 27-year-old fashion company executive while Mata stood guard. Mata is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday.
The accuser, now 29 and living in California, attended Monday's sentencing and was weeping throughout. She did not speak to reporters and it is unclear whether she'll return for Mata's sentencing.
