LI Village Top Cop, Trustee Charged With Corruption: DA

The chief of the Hempstead Police Department, as well as a former village trustee and a restaurant owner, were indicted today on corruption charges, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Paul Johnson, 54, the commissioner of the Hempstead Police Department, was charged with first- and second-degree tampering with public records, fourth-degree grand larceny, official misconduct, two counts of second-degree obstructing governmental administration, second-degree criminal contempt, fifth-degree conspiracy and a traffic violation. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on June 10.

Perry Pettus, 63, a former trustee of the Village of Hempstead, and William Mendez, 48, a local restaurant owner, were charged with first- and second-degree tampering with public records, fourth-degree grand larceny, official misconduct, second-degree obstructing governmental administration, fifth-degree conspiracy and a traffic violation. They were both released on their own recognizance. Pettus is due back in court on May 7, and Mendez is due back on May 22.

Pettus and Mendez are already facing multiple corruption and extortion charges for their alleged schemes to abuse Pettus's position in village government to enrich themselves.

“In response to community complaints of corruption and abuses of authority in Hempstead Village government and the Hempstead Police Department, my office began a long-term investigation that uncovered shocking allegations of corruption by a village trustee and the most senior police officials,” Singas said. “As crime in Nassau has reached record lows, violence has risen in Hempstead, and it is critical that leaders and the community collaborate to ensure that the public is served by an ethical government and protected by a professional and effective police force. Our investigations are ongoing, and I am committed to working with the Hempstead community and our partners in government to find solutions that restore confidence and trust in government and the police force.”

According to Singas, on May 16, 2018, an employee of Mendez received four tickets from the Hempstead Police Department. Mendez, who was a friend of then-Trustee Pettus, asked Pettus to fix the tickets.

Singas said that Pettus called Johnson, who was then a lieutenant in the Hempstead Police Department, the same day. Pettus allegedly described the tickets to Johnson and said he would stop by the department later in the day to show him the ticket numbers on his phone. Singas said that Johnson told Pettus the tickets would be taken care of, and Pettus later called Mendez and allegedly told him, "They're done. You don't have to worry."

On May 25, 2018, Johnson was interviewed by Pettus and others for positions as either assistant or deputy chief of the Hempstead Police Department. That evening, Singas said that Pettus called Johnson and told him he would be promoted.

Johnson allegedly told Pettus, “Ya know, if I can look out for you cause it’s something minor like a parking ticket, a traffic ticket, that’s one thing. But if you’re talking about criminal offenses and weapons and drugs and something, that’s something different.”

On June 5, 2018, Pettus voted to promote Johnson to Acting Chief of the Hempstead Police Department. Singas said that Johnson is additionally charged with ignoring a grand jury subpoena to produce the tickets that he allegedly fixed on behalf of Pettus and Mendez.

In July, October and November of 2018 Pettus was arraigned on four separate grand jury indictments related to bribery and extortion schemes of local business owners, while Mendez was arraigned on two.

In one incident, Pettus allegedly accepted a bribe from Lieutenant Richard Holland on May 14, 2018. Pettus voted on June 5 to promote Holland to deputy chief of the department. That case is pending.

According to a separate indictment unsealed today, Singas said that Pettus used his position as a trustee to ask Joseph Savino, a sergeant in the Hempstead Police Department, to fix tickets as a favor to Mendez. Savino allegedly disposed of two parking tickets issued to Mendez and a uniform traffic summons and complaint issued to an employee of Mendez.

On April 13 and April 14, 2018, Mendez allegedly called Pettus to complain that police officers from the village had given him parking tickets. Pettus allegedly told Mendez to give him the tickets and said he would help him depending on the officer that wrote the tickets. Singas said that Pettus told Mendez that he would have to speak to a boss at the police department and determine if that boss would fix the tickets.

On April 15, 2018, Mendez allegedly called Pettus and again asked for help with a DMV traffic summons that Mendez’s employee had received from a Hempstead Village Police officer. Pettus called the front desk of the department, Singas said, and Savino answered the phone. Savino allegedly agreed to take care of the ticket. Savino also allegedly disposed of the parking tickets issued to Mendez.

Savino, 51, was two counts counts each of first- and second-degree tampering with public records, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, four counts of official misconduct, two counts of second-degree obstructing governmental administration, fifth-degree conspiracy and a traffic violation. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on June 10.

Pettus and Mendez were both charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree tampering with public records, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, four counts of official misconduct, two counts of obstructing governmental administration, fifth-degree conspiracy and a traffic violation. They were both released on their own recognizance. Pettus is due back in court on May 7, and Mendez is due back on May 22.