Opinion
June 20, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Edward Sheridan, J.).
The testimony of the experienced observing officer and the arresting officer established that they were working as a team in the vicinity of the Port Authority, an area known for illegal drug activity ( People v. King, 200 A.D.2d 487, 488, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 873), when the first officer observed an unapprehended man hand money to defendant, whereupon the codefendant, who was standing next to defendant, gave two vials containing crack/cocaine to the man and one vial to the man's companion, and defendant then gave the companion $1 in change. Where, as here, the observing officer motioned to the second officer to arrest defendant, "`it [was] not necessary for the officer making the arrest * * * to be, himself, in possession of information sufficient to constitute probable cause provided that he act[ed] upon the direction of or as a result of communication with a * * * brother officer' who had probable cause to arrest" ( Matter of Alton J., 196 A.D.2d 764, quoting People v. Horowitz, 21 N.Y.2d 55, 60). We have considered defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Kupferman, J.P., Ross, Asch, Nardelli and Tom, JJ.