Suffolk Cop Who Stole Cash During Traffic Stops Gets Prison Sentence

A Suffolk County patrol officer convicted of stealing cash from motorists during traffic stops was sentenced to one to three years in state prison Friday following a six-day trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Scott Greene, 52, of Shirley, who was convicted in January, was found guilty of two counts of fourth degree grand larceny, petty larceny and three counts of official misconduct. The judge found Greene not guilty of fourth degree grand larceny as a hate crime.

Greene was arrested Jan. 30, 2014 after a Hispanic undercover officer lured Greene to stop him for driving a car where the license plate was purposely left dangling.

Greene pulled over the undercover officer and asked him to stand outside the car. That's when surveillance cameras caught Green stealing a $100 dollar bill from a pile of money left in the car. The money had been laced with a powder not visible to the naked eye. When police arrested Greene, they found the powder on his hands and uniform.

During the trial, Greene addressed the court and apologized for his crimes. He asked for six months in jail and probation and also claimed “things aren’t easy” for him in jail.

Justice Fernando Camacho told Greene his criminal behavior harmed the reputation of police officers. Greene “betrayed the trust of the unsung heroes in the community - the immigrants,” he said.

“You didn’t steal a few measly bucks, you stole the fruits of their blood, sweat and tears,” Camacho told Greene.

During his Jan. 15 conviction, the jury determined that Greene was “nothing more than a thief with a badge.”

The district attorney’s office recommended Green to receive the maximum sentence of up to four years in an upstate correctional facility, but he will only have to serve one to three years in prison if he pleads guilty to four more felony charges of grand larceny alleged in a second indictment charging similar thefts, according to the DA.

Image via SCDA