NYC prosecutors partied in evidence room

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NEW YORK, June 4 (UPI) -- A party at a New York City prosecutor's office prior to a Yankees game was held amidst boxes of stored evidence, the New York Post reported Monday.

About 40 people, including prosecutors and their guests, were drinking and partying May 23 in an area of the Bronx District Attorney's Office that included Room 617, in which evidence for District Attorney Robert Johnson's ticket-fixing case against 16 New York Police Department officers and five civilians was kept, the newspaper said.

"Evidence is everywhere in there, stacked in boxes, floor to ceiling. The reason this is a problem is that the room is supposed to be locked, 24/7," a source told the newspaper.

The party preceding that evening's "Bronx DA Night at Yankee Stadium" began in the sixth-floor reception area but soon spilled throughout the floor, including the room full of evidence.

A spokesman for Johnson confirmed the festivities but denied the party compromised evidence.

"Present and former staff members and their families gathered at the office, prior to attending a Yankees game," spokesman Steve Reed said. "They conducted themselves maturely and did nothing to compromise the work of the office."

"If your family includes a stable of hot women, then I guess you can call it a 'family' event," a source told the newspaper.