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3 N.Y.P.D. Commanders Are Arrested on Corruption Charges 3 N.Y.P.D. Commanders Are Arrested in Vast Corruption Case
(about 7 hours later)
Three New York Police Department commanders, including a deputy chief, were arrested early Monday, along with a Brooklyn businessman, on federal corruption charges stemming from one of several continuing investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising, according to court papers. Three New York Police Department commanders were arrested on Monday, along with a Brooklyn businessman, on federal corruption charges linked to one of several continuing investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising.
The arrests, of a deputy chief, a deputy inspector and a sergeant, were one of the most significant roundups of police supervisors in the recent history of the department. In striking the top ranks, the case is a particular blow to the storied — and sometimes sullied — reputation of the nation’s largest municipal police force. The arrests were one of the most significant roundups of police supervisors in the recent history of the department — a deputy chief and a deputy inspector accused of accepting expensive gifts from two politically connected businessmen who prosecutors say were seeking illicit favors from the police.
The court papers in the case detail lavish gifts the two senior police officials are accused of receiving in exchange for taking official action, including expensive meals, free overseas and domestic trips, and the referral of business to a security company associated with one of the officials. The deputy inspector was also accused of receiving a trip on a private jet to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl weekend in 2013, and was said to be accompanied by a prostitute. In court papers unsealed on Monday, federal agents describe how the two men, who are at the center of one of the City Hall fund-raising inquiries, showered gifts on senior police officials: jewelry for the police inspector’s wife; a video game system for the chief’s children; tickets to Brooklyn Nets games; hotel rooms in Rome and Chicago; even a private-jet flight to Las Vegas, with a prostitute on board.
The criminal complaint, sworn out by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent on a public corruption squad, Blaire Toleman, describes how the New York Police Department played the roles of chauffeur, bodyguard and concierge to two businessmen. The police officers arrested on Monday were Deputy Chief Michael J. Harrington, 50; Deputy Inspector James M. Grant, 43; and Sgt. David Villanueva, 42, who was charged in a separate but related scheme involving gun licenses. The businessman arrested was Jeremiah Reichberg, 42, of Borough Park, Brooklyn.
On some occasions, the police officials drove the businessmen around town, using lights and sirens to expedite the trips. Other times, the police intervened to help the businessmen settle disputes with rivals. The other businessman, Jona S. Rechnitz, 33, has pleaded guilty and has provided information in the police case and in at least one of the fund-raising investigations focused on Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and his inner circle, according to several people familiar with the case.
“They got, in effect, a private police force for themselves and their friends,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference on Monday. “Effectively they got cops on call.” Although the charges being leveled against the police commanders involve some of the same figures who appear in the mayoral fund-raising investigations — most notably Mr. Rechnitz — there has been no suggestion that the mayor himself was involved in the police influence-peddling and bribery scheme described in the court papers unsealed on Monday.
In addition to the deputy chief and deputy inspector, a sergeant was charged in a separate but related scheme that involved aiding applicants for firearms licenses, the papers said. Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said little about the connection between the various inquiries, beyond noting that “there is no allegation that has anything to do with the mayor anywhere” in those court documents.
Court papers unsealed on Monday also disclosed that a police officer who was involved in that scheme had previously pleaded guilty to bribery charges and was cooperating with federal authorities. In that scheme, bribes — as much as $18,000 per gun license — factored into between 100 and 150 gun licenses in recent years, according to the court papers. Mr. Reichberg and Mr. Rechnitz do not appear to have had any official affiliation to the Police Department, although Mr. Reichberg, a member of the large Orthodox Jewish community in Borough Park, would often describe himself as a “community liaison” to the department. He even had business cards identifying him as such, prosecutors said.
The core of the bribery scheme detailed on Monday, however, relates to the gifts showered on the police by two businessmen, Jeremiah Reichberg and Jona S. Rechnitz, both of whom have been generous supporters of the mayor. Mr. Reichberg, 42, of Borough Park, Brooklyn, was charged along with the officers, the papers said. Mr. Rechnitz, 33, of the Upper West Side in Manhattan, had been a target of the fund-raising investigation until recent weeks, when he pleaded guilty to corruption charges and began cooperating with the federal authorities, people briefed on the matter have said. But what the men lacked in official status, they made up for with regular gifts and frequent social calls that afforded them a remarkable level of influence inside the department, prosecutors said.
Mr. Bharara said little on Monday about the connection between the various inquiries, beyond noting in response to a question that “there is no allegation that has anything to do with the mayor anywhere” in the court documents unsealed Monday. At their urging, a top chief appointed Inspector Grant to command the 19th Precinct on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a plum assignment, according to the complaint.
Arrested were Deputy Chief Michael J. Harrington, 50; Deputy Inspector James M. Grant, 43; and Sgt. David Villanueva, 42, and Mr. Reichberg. They were expected to appear in United States District Court in Manhattan on Monday afternoon. The officer who worked in the pistol license division who has already pleaded guilty was identified as Richard Ochetal. Their lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment. But they were motivated, prosecutors said, by more than the thrill of meddling in police politics. Rather, they wanted the department to serve as “a private police force for themselves and their friends,” Mr. Bharara said at a news conference. “Effectively they got cops on call.”
The arrest of two senior police officials on bribery charges in a single case is a rarity, despite a long docket of colorful police scandals over the years. While past scandals might force police commissioners and chiefs into retirement, it was usually rank-and-file officers and low-level supervisors who found themselves facing criminal charges. In recent years, the senior police officials were quick to play the roles of chauffeur, bodyguard and concierge to the two businessmen, according to a criminal complaint sworn out by Blaire Toleman, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a public corruption squad.
“The case shows whether you’re a cop or a chief, if you break the law you will be handled the same way,” the police commissioner, William J. Bratton, said at the news conference, speaking after Mr. Bharara and the F.B.I.’s senior official in New York. On some occasions, the police officials drove the businessmen around town and to the airport, with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Other times, the police sent underlings to help one of the businessmen, who was involved in the diamond trade, against a business rival or to retrieve gemstones that were the subject of disputes over payment, according to the criminal complaint.
The official action taken by the senior officers included closing a traffic lane in the Lincoln Tunnel to provide a police escort for a businessman visiting the United States, dispatching police officers to the area near a jewelry business run by associates of Mr. Reichberg to disperse people handing out fliers for a rival business, and sending officers to disperse protesters in front of the business of an associate of Mr. Reichberg, according to the court papers. One of the officials also helped the men with their applications to get Police Department pistol licenses. Sergeant Villanueva was charged in a separate but related scheme that involved aiding applicants for firearms licenses, the court papers said. In that scheme, bribes — as much as $18,000 per gun license — factored into 100 to 150 gun licenses in recent years, according to the papers.
Some of the conduct detailed in the court papers veers toward the bizarre. It describes the two businessmen, both Orthodox Jews, visiting the deputy inspector’s Staten Island home on Christmas Day in 2013, wearing elf hats to deliver a video game system for his children and a piece of jewelry for his wife valued at $1,000. On the same day, the two men visited the deputy chief’s home and delivered a video game system for his children. Mr. Rechnitz, who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, had been a target of the City Hall fund-raising investigation until recent weeks, when he began cooperating with the federal authorities. His lawyer, Alan Levine, declined to comment.
Far from being an unwelcome intrusion, it was the start of what Inspector Grant apparently hoped would become a Christmas tradition. When Christmas rolled around the next year without any gifts for his family, Inspector Grant expressed his disappointment to one of the businessmen, Mr. Reichberg, during a phone conversation in January 2015, captured on a wiretap. Both Mr. Rechnitz and Mr. Reichberg, the businessman arrested on Monday, have been generous supporters of the mayor.
“First of all, first of all, the two elves didn’t come” for Christmas, he said using an expletive for emphasis, according to the papers. During the same conversation, Inspector Grant complained that Mr. Reichberg had not invited him to the Super Bowl again this year, choosing instead to extend the invitation to another police official. Mr. Rechnitz’s cooperation with federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents has already helped prosecutors bring corruption charges in another case linked to the same fund-raising investigation, people briefed on the matter have said. In that case, a criminal complaint unsealed on June 8 charged Norman Seabrook, the powerful head of the union that represents New York City correction officers, with honest services fraud and conspiracy.
Since the scandal has reached the Police Department, nearly a dozen mostly senior officials have been disciplined and several have put in to retire.
Indeed, the arrest of two senior police officials on bribery charges in a single case is a rarity, despite the long docket of colorful police scandals over the years.
Informed by a century of scandals related to graft, the department’s official policy is that officers are not to accept any gratuity, not even a cup of coffee. The only exception is that officers are allowed to accept pen and pencil sets, plaques or other common tokens of appreciation.
“The case shows whether you’re a cop or a chief, if you break the law you will be handled the same way,” William J. Bratton, the police commissioner, said at the news conference, speaking after Mr. Bharara.
At a brief arraignment on Monday, neither Chief Harrington nor Inspector Grant spoke in court.
After the hearing, a lawyer for Inspector Grant, John C. Meringolo, called his client “an exceptional police officer for his entire career.”
Some of the conduct detailed in the court papers veers toward the bizarre. It describes the two businessmen’s visit to Inspector Grant’s Staten Island home on Christmas Day in 2013, wearing elf hats to deliver a video game system for his children and a piece of jewelry for his wife valued at $1,000. On the same day, the two men visited the deputy chief’s home and delivered a video game system for his children.
Far from being an unwelcome intrusion, it was the start of what Inspector Grant apparently hoped would blossom into a Christmas tradition. When the holiday came and went the next year without any gifts, Inspector Grant expressed his disappointment to Mr. Reichberg during a phone conversation in January 2015, captured on a wiretap.
“First of all, the two elves didn’t come” for Christmas, he said using an expletive for emphasis, according to the papers. During the same conversation, Inspector Grant complained that Mr. Reichberg had not invited him on a Super Bowl trip, choosing instead to extend the invitation to another police official.
“See, you don’t love me anymore, bro,” Inspector Grant complained, according to the complaint.“See, you don’t love me anymore, bro,” Inspector Grant complained, according to the complaint.
The arrests early Monday morning by agents with the F.B.I. and investigators from the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau were to be followed by the execution of search warrants, according to officials. The charges included bribery, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy. It might have seemed a bit ungrateful, given that Inspector Grant may have owed the men his promotion to lead the 19th Precinct, the criminal complaint suggests.
While the charges being leveled against the police officials were uncovered during one of the half-dozen fund-raising investigations focused on Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and his inner circle, there has been no suggestion that the mayor himself was involved in the conduct described in the court papers, a criminal complaint charging Deputy Chief Harrington, Deputy Inspector Grant and Mr. Reichberg, and indictment charging Sergeant Villanueva. The fund-raising investigation and several other inquiries by federal prosecutors, the F.B.I. and other agencies focused on the mayor’s donors and fund-raising were continuing. The scope of the broader fund-raising inquiries remains unclear. Prosecutors said the two businessmen had recommended Inspector Grant for that position during their regular conversations with a top police chief, who was not named in court papers but appears to be Philip Banks III, the highest uniformed member of the department until his retirement at the end of 2014.
Commissioner Bratton has said the department believes investigators have identified all of the police officials involved in the alleged misconduct, though it is unknown whether the charges on Monday will conclude that line of inquiry by federal prosecutors, F.B.I. agents and Internal Affairs investigators. “I don’t know whether you should expect more or not,” Mr. Bharara said, referring to charges related to the current inquiry. The two businessmen, in fact, dined with Chief Banks once or twice a week, always picking up the bill, according to the complaint. And when Chief Banks ultimately appointed Inspector Grant to be commander of the 19th Precinct, in mid-2014, he put the two businessmen on the phone so they could share the news with the inspector “that he was being promoted,” according to the complaint.
The particular fund-raising investigation that led to these arrests has been going on for well over a year, and in recent months, details of some of the accusations against the police officials who have been charged — and others — have been widely reported. Nearly a dozen mostly senior officials have been disciplined by the Police Department in some way as a result of the inquiry, including those charged on Monday. Those disciplined include five deputy chiefs and a deputy inspector; four of the deputy chiefs and the deputy inspector have put in for retirement. A lawyer for Mr. Banks, Benjamin Brafman, said, “We have always maintained that former Chief Banks did not knowingly violate the law, and nothing in today’s arrest of other members of the department changes that position.”
Mr. Rechnitz’s cooperation with federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents has already helped prosecutors bring corruption charges in another case linked to the same fund-raising investigation, people briefed on the matter have said. In that case, a criminal complaint unsealed on June 8 charged Norman Seabrook, the powerful head of the union that represents city correction officers, and Murray Huberfeld, a hedge fund financier, with honest services fraud and conspiracy. With Mr. Rechnitz’s cooperation and Mr. Reichberg’s arrest, the friendship between the two men clearly seemed to have ended.
That complaint said Mr. Rechnitz had pleaded guilty to committing honest services fraud in connection with the scheme in which Mr. Seabrook and Mr. Huberfeld were charged, “among other things,” suggesting he was involved in additional criminal conduct, and that he was providing information in the hope of obtaining leniency when he is sentenced. Mr. Reichberg’s lawyer, Susan R. Necheles, issued a statement in which she said her client had not committed a crime and was “a good man” who “has helped many people.” She added, “His only mistake was his friendship with Jona Rechnitz, a criminal who has admitted bribing a union official and who is desperately trying to get others in trouble in order to curry favor with prosecutors and save his own skin.”
While the document does not identify Mr. Rechnitz by name, referring to him only as CW-1, or Cooperating Witness 1, several people with knowledge of the matter said CW-1 was Mr. Rechnitz. Mr. Rechnitz’s lawyer, Alan Levine, declined to comment. At a news conference announcing the arrests of Mr. Seabrook and Mr. Huberfeld, Mr. Bharara, whose office filed the complaint, would not answer questions about the identity of CW-1 or the degree to which the witness could be helpful in other cases. Mr. Bharara described him only as a “real estate friend” of Mr. Reichberg. Mr. Rechnitz’s lawyer, Alan Levine, responded with a statement of his own. “Jeremy Reichberg is responsible for his own conduct, just as Jona Rechnitz was for his,” he said. “It is now apparent that Jeremy Reichberg’s problems are the product of his own actions and his own words from a court ordered wiretap on his phone.”
But Mr. Bharara indicated that the witness was “assisting other investigations.”
The criminal complaint in the earlier case details two trips that Mr. Rechnitz, Mr. Seabrook and another businessman — also a supporter of the mayor — took to the Dominican Republic. On the first one, in November 2013, they were accompanied by an unnamed officer from the Police Department. On the second one, in December 2014, the four men were accompanied by a fifth unnamed person. Mr. Rechnitz paid for the airfare for both trips.
Then, in March 2014, Mr. Seabrook, Mr. Rechnitz, the police officer and the other businessman — Mr. Reichberg, who was identified in the criminal complaint as Co-Conspirator 1 or CC-1 — traveled to Israel, with Mr. Rechnitz paying the airfare, according to the complaint. In July of that year, he paid for the same group to travel to Las Vegas and then Burbank, Calif., the complaint said.