Three Cops Arrested in Tow Truck Bribery Scheme
Two current NYPD officers and one that was retired were arrested by the FBI on 10/1 over an alleged towing scheme.
According to investigators, the officers, James Davneiro and Giancarlo Osma, and retired officer Michael Perri, who owned an auto repair shop, worked together. The two NYPD officers responded to accidents and steered the damaged vehicles to a towing and auto repair business operated by Perri. In exchange, Perri allegedly paid the two officers thousands in cash bribes to tow broken down vehicles.
The feds said the crooked arrangement lasted a year, with Perri funneling cash payments to the cops. The bust is the second one in the last six months featuring NYPD cops accused of a tow-trucking scheme.
“These defendants disgraced their badges and betrayed the public trust and their oaths as police officers by lining their pockets with cash bribes,” said acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis.
In March, Davneiro and Osma arranged for Perri’s company to tow at least one vehicle, bypassing NYPD protocol, prosecutors said. Less than a month later, Perri allegedly paid Osma $1,600.
In April and May, the officers illegally arranged for Perri’s company to tow cars at least seven times — and Perri gave them $1,000 each in exchange, according to the indictment.
The arrests came just five months after three other Queens officers were arrested in a similar scheme.
The three men are scheduled to be arraigned in Brooklyn and if convicted, face up to five years in prison.
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