Top NYPD Officials Charged in Corruption Probe Involving Rockland Man

Pictured: NYPD Officer James Grant, who allegedly accepted an all-expenses paid trip to Vegas for the Super Bowl 2013, complete with a personal prostitute.

By Lanning Taliaferro and Simone Wilson (Patch Staff)

Jeremy Reichberg, a local businessman with deep ties to Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community, was able to bypass city law and secure police favors for him and his friends by bribing high-ranking officers with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), according to three bombshell indictments revealed Monday by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Harrington, Deputy Inspector James Grant and Sgt. David Villanueva, who was with the gun licensing division, were arrested early Monday morning in connection with a probe into corruption at the police department that involved gun permits and a Rockland "expediter."

Jeremy Reichberg, a Brooklyn-based businessman, was also arrested.

Preet Bharara, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York; Diego Rodriguez, the assistant director-in-charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton spoke at a noon press conference on the arrests.

Named in Villanueva's indictment was a Pomona resident whom the FBI says paid bribes to get gun licenses from the NYPD and sold them to customers for as much as $18,000 apiece. Alex Lichtenstein, 44, is a member of the Borough Park's private, Orthodox-only security team, Shomrim, a volunteer, ostensibly unarmed patrol society whose mission includes combating criminal activity and locating missing people in Brooklyn.

Villanueva is alleged to have expedited and approved gun permits for Lichtenstein's clients in return for about one-third of the fee.

Prosecutors said gun licenses were issued to more than 100 people without proper background checks or paperwork. The secret client list allegedly included one person who had previously been arrested for assault, and another person with four domestic-violence complaints.

The indictments accuse the officials of providing favors to Reichberg and his friends and associates, such as police escorts, assistance with private disputes and investigations, police security at religious sites, the ability to get out of tickets and special access to parades and other cultural events. In return they are alleged to have received personal and financial benefits including jewelry and luxury items.

SEE: Rockland Man Charged with Bribery Over NYPD-Issued Gun Permits

More arrests are expected, officials said.

Harrington, Grant and Reichberg were charged in Manhattan federal court with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud for a bribery scheme involving the receipt of tens of thousands of dollars in meals, trips, home renovations, and other benefits in exchange for an array of official NYPD actions, including private police escorts, ticket fixing, and assistance in settling private disputes. Villanueva, formerly a supervisor in the NYPD’s gun licensing division, was charged in Manhattan federal court with bribery offenses in connection with his receipt of cash bribes to expedite and approve gun licenses.

In addition, the guilty plea of Police Officer Richard Ochetal, who formerly worked in the gun licensing division, was unsealed today.

Ochetal pled guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for the approval of gun license applications, and is cooperating with the government in the investigation, officials said.

“The alleged conduct violates the basic principle that public servants are to serve the public, not help themselves to cash and benefits just for doing their jobs," Bharara said in his announcement. "Jeremy Reichberg allegedly showered senior police officials, Commanding Officers Michael Harrington and James Grant, with bribes, and in exchange, got ‘cops on call,’ a private police force for themselves and their friends. As alleged, Sergeant David Villanueva and Officer Richard Ochetal in the NYPD’s gun licensing division were also on the take, issuing gun licenses in exchange for cash, liquor, and limo rides. It is heartbreaking to see police officers who have taken the oath to serve and protect allegedly bring dishonor to an institution and profession deserving of the greatest honor. I thank the FBI for their work on this important investigation and the NYPD for its commitment and courage to police itself.”

And Diego Rodriquez, second in command at the FBI's New York field office, issued a blistering statement on the allegations of local corruption.

“The abuses of power alleged in this case are not victimless crimes," he said in the announcement. "The victims are the citizens of New York, who rely on officers to fulfill their sworn duty. The victims are the upstanding police officers who do everything in their power to uphold the law and protect the public. The victims are public trust and confidence in law enforcement, both critical to ensuring public safety. The FBI, along with our partners, will continue to root out this kind of decay at every level in order to protect our citizens from the devastating consequences of corruption that undermines safety, and erodes the trust between law enforcement and the public.”

Here are some of the alleged perks provided to officers by Reichberg and his associate, Manhattan real-estate investor Jona Rechnitz — both of them also big donors to Bill de Blasio during his run for mayor.

• An all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas for the 2013 Super Bowl for Grant and his detective friend (the private jet alone cost nearly $60,000 — and when, two years later, Grant didn't receive another invite, he allegedly said: "See you don't love me anymore bro... You don't invite me to the Super Bowl, what the f**k")
• A personal prostitute for the Super Bowl weekend in Vegas
• A two-night stay for Grant's family at the "most luxurious hotel in Rome" (costing upward of $1,000)
• $12,000 in renovations to Grant's home
• A $3,000 watch for Grant
• Regular free lunches and dinners, including a series of $400 to $500 dinners for Harrington at expensive Manhattan restaurants
• Tickets to sporting events, including tickets to a Brooklyn Nets basketball game ($400 each) and tickets to a New York Rangers hockey game ($700 each)
• A Christmas Day visit to both officers' homes from two men dressed up as elves, bearing gifts such as a video game console and fancy jewelry
• A $6,500 trip to Chicago for Harrington's family
• Work contracts with a security firm run by a relative of Harrington's
• Advice and local influence on NYPD job promotions for Grant and Harrington (for instance, Reichberg allegedly took credit for securing Grant top-brass status on the Upper East Side)

And here are some of the backward favors these two ex-Brooklyn cops allegedly offered to Reichberg and Rechnitz in return.

• Police escorts to and from the airport, sometimes "using the lights and sirens of a police car" and, in one case, requiring a lane closure in the Lincoln Tunnel
• On-call police response to the businessmen's various properties for reports of vandalism, trespassing, suspected break-ins, "diamond-related disputes" with customers and even a feud with a neighboring diamond shop
• Extra cop patrols at the local synagogue
• "VIP treatment" beyond police barricades at public events, such as the New York City Marathon and the New Year's Eve ball drop at Times Square
• Special NYPD cards for the businessmen and their friends, which they could flash at officers in the field in exchange for special "courtesies" (even, in one case, when an associate of Reichberg's was pulled over for "driving like a f**king lunatic" and blowing through red lights in Brooklyn)
• NYPD officers sent to disperse protesters at Reichberg's friend's business
• Easy and quick access to NYPD-issued gun licenses

Bratton said: “These charges and today's arrests are a culmination of the joint investigative efforts of the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau along with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. During the past three years, NYPD Internal Affairs and FBI investigators worked diligently in pursuing leads into alleged corrupt activity involving uniformed members of this department. Two separate investigations, by the NYPD and the FBI, merged seamlessly and resulted in today’s arrests of four members of the department as well as another individual. This investigation is not over and we will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners to go where the facts of these cases lead us.‎”