Jury can’t buy ‘collar$’ suit

A BROOKLYN man who accused the NYPD of wrongly arresting him so cops could get some overtime failed to convince jurors Friday that he was the victim of a “collars for dollars” scheme.

Hector Cordero had argued that his October 2014 arrest as a suspected drug dealer was a ploy to get on-duty cops extra pay — but jurors rejected his claim that he was maliciously prosecuted.

Brooklyn prosecutors later dismissed the case against Cordero. His lawyer said the officers from the 83rd Precinct who initially collared him and processed his paperwork had filed for roughly 20 hours of overtime.

The officers testified during the federal trial that it had just been a busy tour that day.

During trial, city lawyers insisted that Cordero, 59, was selling crack — an accusation he repeatedly denied.

Another man had pleaded guilty to drug possession while Cordero was found with almost $600 on him, city lawyers said.

Cordero’s talk about “collars for dollars” was just a diversion from the key matter of whether police had good reason to arrest him, the lawyers said.

If the federal jury had been swayed by Cordero’s arguments, his case could have entered a second phase that would have allowed his lawyer to explore the possibility of ongoing overtime abuse throughout the entire police department. But the jury spent less than two hours deliberating before knocking Cordero’s arguments down. Officer Hugo Hugasian — the cop who said he saw a hand-to-hand exchange that led him to arrest Cordero for suspected drug dealing — wiped away tears . One juror said he “would have very much liked to have found in the plaintiff’s favor,” but added that Cordero didn’t present enough evidence. Cordero (photo) declined to comment outside court, but said he was “very sad.” Hugasian and the three other NYPD members on trial also declined to comment. Nick Paolucci, spokesman for the city Law Department, was pleased with the result. “In response to the court’s specific question, the jury resoundingly rejected the plaintiff’s claim that he was arrested to generate police overtime,” he said.