Feds: Three NYPD officials linked to gun permit bribery
Three members of the NYPD License Division have been moved out of their positions as part of an ongoing corruption probe into the department, the NYPD and federal officials announced Monday.
The latest move comes as federal officials alleged a man who volunteers in a Borough Park safety patrol had for years been bribing officers in order to get people gun permits. That man, Alex "Shaya" Lichtenstein, was arrested Sunday in his Pomona, New York residence.
A deputy inspector in the NYPD License Division, Michael Endall, a sergeant, David Villanueva, and a police officer, Richard Ochetal, have been reassigned, according to a spokesperson for the NYPD. Endall is being reassigned to an “administrative position” and the two others were placed on “modified duty,” according to the statement, which means their guns and badges have been removed.
Federal officials said in a criminal complaint that they have a recording of Lichtenstein telling an officer that in exchange for gun licenses, “I’ll give you and [and the union delegate who helps] more than you’ll make in the police department.” He later offered the officer $6,000 for each gun permit he helped secure, federal officials said.
Lichtenstein allegedly had plotted to bribe cops starting in 2013 — the year before Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton took office — through this past February, according to the criminal complaint from the office of the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District Preet Bharara.
From June through December 2015, Lichtenstein visited NYPD headquarters “two times per week” to meet with officials in the License Division, according to the complaint.
Lichtenstein had been a volunteer with the Shomrim, described by an FBI agent in the complaint as “ostensibly unarmed Orthodox Jewish Patrol Society” that combats “criminal activity” and helps find missing people. Lichtenstein allegedly told a police officer in the 66th precinct — which covers Borough Park — that he was charging people thousands of dollars to help them obtain gun permits from the NYPD. That officer reported Lichtenstein to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
That officer met with Lichtenstein this month under the guidance of the FBI and IAB while equipped with video and audio recording devices. Lichtenstein “patted down” the officer “in an attempt to detect” if he was wearing a wire.
At one point during the conversation between the officer and Lichtenstein, the complaint alleges Lichtenstein told the officer, "I want to repeat myself, I'm not bribing you." The officer responded, "Shaya I'm not an a--hole, of course you're bribing me. Let's be frank and honest here." Lichtenstein, according to the complaint, did not respond. Earlier in the conversation, Lichtenstein allegedly estimated he had gotten 150 gun licenses through the License Division.
Among the people who Lichtenstein allegedly helped obtain a gun permit was a person who had been arrested for forgery and been the subject of “at least four domestic violence complaints, including one in which he was accused of threatening to kill someone.”
Multiple other NYPD officials have been reassigned this month as a federal investigation continues into possible corruption within the department.
Three members of the NYPD License Division have been moved out of their positions as part of an ongoing corruption probe into the department, the NYPD and federal officials announced Monday.
The latest move comes as federal officials alleged a man who volunteers in a Borough Park safety patrol had for years been bribing officers in order to get people gun permits. That man, Alex "Shaya" Lichtenstein, was arrested Sunday in his Pomona, New York residence.
A deputy inspector in the NYPD License Division, Michael Endall, a sergeant, David Villanueva, and a police officer, Richard Ochetal, have been reassigned, according to a spokesperson for the NYPD. Endall is being reassigned to an “administrative position” and the two others were placed on “modified duty,” according to the statement, which means their guns and badges have been removed.
Federal officials said in a criminal complaint that they have a recording of Lichtenstein telling an officer that in exchange for gun licenses, “I’ll give you and [and the union delegate who helps] more than you’ll make in the police department.” He later offered the officer $6,000 for each gun permit he helped secure, federal officials said.
Lichtenstein allegedly had plotted to bribe cops starting in 2013 — the year before Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton took office — through this past February, according to the criminal complaint from the office of the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District Preet Bharara.
From June through December 2015, Lichtenstein visited NYPD headquarters “two times per week” to meet with officials in the License Division, according to the complaint.
Lichtenstein had been a volunteer with the Shomrim, described by an FBI agent in the complaint as “ostensibly unarmed Orthodox Jewish Patrol Society” that combats “criminal activity” and helps find missing people. Lichtenstein allegedly told a police officer in the 66th precinct — which covers Borough Park — that he was charging people thousands of dollars to help them obtain gun permits from the NYPD. That officer reported Lichtenstein to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
That officer met with Lichtenstein this month under the guidance of the FBI and IAB while equipped with video and audio recording devices. Lichtenstein “patted down” the officer “in an attempt to detect” if he was wearing a wire.
At one point during the conversation between the officer and Lichtenstein, the complaint alleges Lichtenstein told the officer, "I want to repeat myself, I'm not bribing you." The officer responded, "Shaya I'm not an a--hole, of course you're bribing me. Let's be frank and honest here." Lichtenstein, according to the complaint, did not respond. Earlier in the conversation, Lichtenstein allegedly estimated he had gotten 150 gun licenses through the License Division.
Among the people who Lichtenstein allegedly helped obtain a gun permit was a person who had been arrested for forgery and been the subject of “at least four domestic violence complaints, including one in which he was accused of threatening to kill someone.”
Multiple other NYPD officials have been reassigned this month as a federal investigation continues into possible corruption within the department.
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