Opinion
March 17, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County, Felice Shea, J., Joan B. Carey, J.
Scratch sheets memorializing descriptions of perpetrators constitute Rosario material (People v Rosado, 160 A.D.2d 505, lv denied 76 N.Y.2d 864), and if not preserved, some appropriate sanction must be imposed to eliminate any prejudice caused by their loss (People v Wallace, 76 N.Y.2d 953). In view of the overwhelming evidence of guilt and the lack of any serious dispute concerning identification, the sanction fashioned by the trial court, an adverse inference instruction with respect to the arresting officer's credibility, was quite adequate to eliminate any prejudice caused by the inadvertent loss of the scratch sheets (see, People v Martinez, 71 N.Y.2d 937). The confirmatory identifications made by an experienced undercover officer soon after the face-to-face transactions he had with the defendants were not improper (see, People v Wharton, 74 N.Y.2d 921).
We have considered defendant's argument that his sentence is excessive and find it to be without merit.
Concur — Milonas, J.P., Wallach, Kassal and Rubin, JJ.