Men to file $2M suit against city after cops arrested them for 'crack' that was really candy

A drug bust of two Bronx men wasn't all it was cracked up to be - and now they're looking for a sweet payday from the city. Cops accused Cesar Rodriguez and Jose Pena of having crack cocaine in their work van, but it was only coconut candy.

Charges were dropped after tests showed they were telling the truth, but the two men plan to file a $2 million suit against the NYPD. "I spent five days in jail for possession of coconut candy," said Rodriguez, 33, an ex-con who works as a plumber's assistant.

He and Pena were parked near an Arthur Ave. bodega Jan. 15 when two police officers asked to search their green Chevy Venture van, the men said. The cops found pieces of the crystalline candy - known as crema de coco and sold in bodegas across the city - in a plastic baggie.



Officer Anthony Burgos of the 48th Precinct arrested the duo for drug possession despite their insistence they were guilty only of a sweet tooth, Rodriguez said. "I kept telling him it is candy," he said.

Rodriguez and Pena were locked up on a Friday night and didn't see a judge for arraignment until that Sunday, said their lawyer, Neil Wollerstein. Pena was released after arraignment, but Rodriguez couldn't make the $5,000 bail a judge imposed because of a prior armed robbery conviction. He wasn't let go until this Thursday, the lawyer said.

"This all could have been avoided if they believed us and tasted the candy," said Pena, 48, a father of four boys who works with Rodriguez. "I thought my life was over."