Ex-Cop Moved to Halfway House Upstate

Charles Schwarz, the former NYPD officer who was convicted of lying about his role in the 1997 police torture of Abner Louima, has been released from prison to a halfway house. Schwarz had been serving a five-year prison sentence in a federal minimum security prison in Minnesota. The halfway house is in an unnamed upstate location after Schwarz requested that he not be moved to a house in Bedford-Stuyvesant because of his notoriety.

Schwarz was found guilty of perjury when he denied dragging Louima to the 70th Precinct's bathroom, where officer Justin Volpe sodomized him with a broom handle. A jury in 2002 failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Schwarz also lied about being in the bathroom. Louima required several surgeries to repair the damage to his bladder and colon.

Justin Volpe is serving 30 years for the attack. Barring trouble, Schwarz will be released on May 5th. Last year his bid for an early release was denied.

Reached for comment Louima said "Justice was served. I wish him all the best to move on with his life."