02/21/08 - NY Civil Liberties Union and Moxley Murder Blogger Files Lawsuit Against The New York Police Department

Former 'Newsday' Cops Reporter Levitt Suing NYPD On Denied Press Pass

By Joe Strupp - Editor And Publisher

NEW YORK The New York Civil Liberties Union and a longtime former Newsday police reporter have filed suit against the New York City Police Department seeking information related to the denial of a press pass for the reporter. Leonard Levitt, who claims he held a police press pass for 24 years as a reporter at Newsday, the New York Post, and Associated Press, contends he was wrongly denied a renewal in 2007. Although he left Newsday in 2005, Levitt has been reporting on police department issues at his Web site, NYPDConfidential.com, according to a press release.

Levitt also drew attention in the 1990's for breaking new ground in the famed Martha Moxley murder case in Greenwich, Conn. That case stemmed from the 1975 death of Moxley, a 15-year-old whose murder remained unsolved until the 2002 conviction of her neighbor, Michael Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy and a longtime suspect. Levitt also wrote a 2005 book about the case titled: "Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder" (Regan Books).

"In May 2007, following the NYPD’s sudden revocation of…Levitt’s press pass, the NYCLU served the NYPD with a formal request under the state’s Freedom of Information Law to disclose relevant information about the Department’s policy to issue or deny press passes," the release stated. "It also requested information specifically related to the decision to revoke Levitt’s pass. Over the past nine months, the NYPD has ignored the NYCLU’s request, violated statutory deadlines for responding to such requests, and denied an administrative appeal asking for a timely response."....

....“We want to ensure that the NYPD is applying its press pass policy uniformly and fairly,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman stated in the release. “New Yorkers are entitled to know if the NYPD is stifling investigate reporting aimed at uncovering inappropriate, illicit or illegal behavior within the Department.” The plaintiffs claim that the revocation of Levitt's pass is in retaliation for his reporting, stating: "Through his site, Levitt has reported on the NYPD’s failure to pay its bills on time, the arrest of an NYPD narcotics officer who was involved in drug-smuggling, and police brutality." “I think we’re going to find that this was strictly retaliatory,” Levitt added. “The police department has issued press passes to all kinds of people who they shouldn’t have according to their policy, but not to those who are in need and deserving of a pass....