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SCHENECTADY
Cop jailed for taking drugs freed
Curtis served sentence for evidence tampering
BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter

    Former city detective Jeffrey Curtis was released Thursday from state prison after serving more than 3 1 /2 years on drug and evidence tampering charges.
    Curtis, who had 20 years with the Schenectady Police Department, was sentenced in September 2007 to up to four years in state prison for drug crimes that led to multiple drug cases being compromised.
    Curtis admitted taking 85 units of crack cocaine from the evidence locker, a theft that led directly to charges being dropped against one defendant.
    The theft also launched a full-scale investigation that discovered more than a dozen other cases compromised by missing drug evidence, causing multiple suspects to get favorable deals based on the remaining drugs in evidence.
    The scandal ushered in sweeping changes in how the department handles its evidence. It prompted then-Mayor Brian U. Stratton to bring back the public safety commissioner position, hiring former state police head Wayne Bennett for the job, which Bennett still holds.
    Curtis retired after his arrest.
    Curtis, now 50, was released Thursday morning from the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy. He is to remain under parole supervision for one year, state offi cials said.
    His release came two months after his fi rst opportunity.
    He had originally been slated for release Feb. 14. But that date was pushed back to Thursday because of a July 2009 incident in prison where Curtis was found guilty of creating a disturbance, interference and refusing a direct order. Details of that incident and others involving Curtis were not available. ....................>>>>....................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1

It will be interesting to see how, when and where he lands his next job now that he's out.

he will be flipping flap jacks or finding tree grates........