‘Cannibal Cop’ should be home for dinner after conviction tossed

By Rich Calder, Kevin Sheehan and Bruce Golding

July 1, 2014 | 12:00pm

A​ Manhattan federal judge granted his release on $100,000 bond Tuesday morning in the wake of a blockbuster ruling that tossed his conviction for plotting to kill, cook and eat women.

The former NYPD cop will live with his mom in Queens while prosecutors appeal his acquittal by Manhattan federal Judge Paul Gardephe, a defense lawyer said.

Valle​, who has been behind bars for 21 months including his trial,​ was being processed by federal authorities and still waiting to taste freedom shortly before 1pm.

​His lawyer Julia Gatto said Valle’s mom, who lives in Queens, “is very anxious to cook a meal for him, to sit at the table with him, to hug him.”​

Under terms of his release, the admittedly depraved ex-con will have to wear an electronic monitoring anklet and be barred from using the Internet — where he infamously hatched plans to feast on his wife, along with an array of female friends and acquaintances.

Valle had faced life in prison after a jury found him guilty of kidnapping conspiracy in the grisly schemes, but Gardephe reversed that conviction and conditionally granted him a retrial in a 118-page ruling handed down late Monday.

“The evidentiary record is such that it is more likely than not the case that all of Valle’s Internet communications about kidnapping are fantasy role-play,” Gardephe wrote.

However, the judge upheld Valle’s conviction on a second count of illegally using the NYPD’s federal database to compile a list of female targets and information on them.

Valle, who has been in jail since being arrested in late 2012, has already served the maximum one-year sentence for that crime.

Prosecutor Hadassa Waxman said in court that the feds remained convinced Valle posed a “danger to the community.”

“The government certainly respects the court’s decision, but believes the jury got it right, and it’s our intention to appeal,” she said.

Public defender Gatto said of Valle: “He has served his time and then some​. He is guilty of nothing more than very unprofessional thoughts.”

​Gatto said her client “is anxious to get home to his​ ​family who supported him through this whole ordeal. He’s very elated. ​ ​He’s very tired. Prison is very hard … He has to pick up the pieces ​ ​of his life.​”

“He lost a lot in his ​ ​life​ — his wife, his child​ — and he wants to get back to getting his life ​together.”

​She said his jail time was ​like ​being in his “own Twilight Zone.”

Meanwhile, Middle Village neighbors ​of Valle’s mom, Elizabeth had mixed reactions to the pending homecoming.

A next-door neighbor, who gave his name only as Lex, agreed with the judge’s ruling, saying: “It’s crazy to get convicted for your thoughts. He didn’t do anything.”

“I’m happy for him,” the 36-year-old said, adding,”but some of the people on the block are going to flip. The lady who runs the daycare across the street is going to be really pissed. You know she’s going to lose some of her business once word gets out.”

Lex, who’s separated and has custody of his kids for the summer, also said his estranged wife “keeps calling” and demanding they re-locate.

“She’s bugging out. She wants me to take the kids to a hotel,” he said.


http://nypost.com/2014/07/01/cannibal-cop-freed-on-100k-bond-after-judge-vacates-conviction/