'Most Corrupt,' 'Racist' NYPD Cop Pleads Guilty In Federal Case

NEW YORK CITY — Former NYPD Officer Robert Smith called himself the "most corrupt" cop in his Queens precinct.

He filled his texts and messages with racial slurs, references to the Ku Klux Klan and bragged about pointing his gun at Black people. When he retired, he proclaimed the "real" Smith could shine.

"I even shaved my head. Klan,'" according to federal court records.

But on Wednesday, Smith added another word into the copious federal record of his statements: "Guilty."

Smith, 44, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and attempted distribution of heroin. He wasn't alone — his fellow officers Heather Busch, 34, and Robert Hassett, 36, also pleaded guilty to bribery charges, according to federal authorities.

The trio of now-former NYPD cops, who all live in Long Island, admitted they accepted bribe payments in exchange for referring business to a towing company, court records show.

Smith and Hassett also sold names of automobile crash victims to personal injury lawyers and physical therapy businesses, federal authorities said. They raked in $7,000 in bribes from that scheme, according to documents.

Federal prosecutors charged the trio in May and singled out Smith in court documents. Smith, they wrote, had committed numerous other uncharged crimes, showed "utter disregard for the law" and filled his communications with "unabashedly racist and hate-filled language."

Smith faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced. Busch and Hassett face up to five years in prison.

“The defendants’ guilty pleas to accepting bribes are also acknowledgements that they abused the public trust and dishonored the NYPD by their actions,” Jacquelyn Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney, said in a statement.