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NEW YORK, Nov 4, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A former NYPD detective whose specialty was wiretapping reportedly recorded her own bosses to bolster sexual harassment claims.
In a trial under way in Manhattan Federal Court, Joann Karmel, 52, hopes the tape and evidence of raunchy verbal abuse at the hands of male colleagues will force the city to pay her a sizable damage award.
"In the space of a few years, (she) went from fully functioning, excellent detective to not being fit for duty," said Karmel's lawyer Robert Herbst. "She's been greatly stressed, clinically depressed and at times she began to think of killing herself."
Karmel says her career in the elite Queens district attorney's office squad took a nosedive after she complained to bosses about the crude comments.
At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Karmel was dubbed "Big Bird" by fellow detectives. But that was mild compared with comments that surfaced during the trial, the New York Daily News said.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
