The Daily News on Monday chronicled the relationship between Cujdik and his longtime informant, Ventura Martinez.
In an exclusive interview, Martinez said Cujdik sometimes ordered him to buy drugs elsewhere when he was unable to make a buy from a targeted drug house. Cujdik then lied in search-warrant applications, saying he had witnessed Martinez purchase the drugs from the targeted house, Martinez said.
Cujdik, through his attorney, George Bochetto, has denied the allegations. Bochetto called the claims "fiction" - based on "professional liars, felons, and drug addicts."
As the investigation widened, prosecutors yesterday were forced to delay the scheduled trial of an alleged big-time drug dealer who was arrested by Cujdik and another officer last June.
That trial and at least four other pending criminal cases have been put on hold since the Daily News story broke, according to public defender Bradley S. Bridge.
The number of questionable cases could be staggering.
"I would assume that the examination of the cases involving Officer Cujdik and his partners will total in the hundreds," said Bridge, of the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
"I know that the officers were very busy testifying and getting overtime on a regular basis," he said.
Cujdik, a 12-year veteran, has been one of the busiest narcotics cops on the force. In 2007, he made nearly $50,000 in overtime on top of his $55,389 yearly salary, city payroll records show.
The Police Department pays confidential informants to make drug buys and for tips leading to drug and gun arrests.
Martinez alleged that he had given Cujdik more than $20,000 in informant cash to rent a Kensington house that Cujdik owned.
