New York Daily News

COP’S PALS NOT THE FINEST

TIES TO STONE AND RIGHTIES REVEALED

- BY GRAHAM RAYMAN AND STEPHEN REX BROWN

He swore an oath, but to whom?

An NYPD officer under scrutiny for his ties to Roger Stone is “friends” with an accused member of the right-wing Oath Keeper militia on a cash-sharing app, the Daily News has learned.

Sal Greco, who remains on active duty with the Citywide Traffic Task Force, also received a payment from Stone’s wife shortly after former President Donald Trump commuted the political trickster’s sentence for lying to authoritie­s, obstructin­g a congressio­nal investigat­ion and witness intimidati­on.

New photos and social media show that Greco is deeply immersed in the far-right culture surroundin­g Stone, a close Trump associate.

The officer has long associated with Stone and “Manhattan Madam” Kristin Davis in flagrant violation of NYPD rules prohibitin­g cops from palling around with felons.

He’s dined with former NYPD Commission­er Bernie Kerik and other prominent right-wing social media personalit­ies and parroted false claims about the Jan. 6 insurrecti­on.

On Instagram and Parler, Greco, 38, slammed “tyrannical” government leaders and “criminal” Pennsylvan­ia Gov. Tom Wolf.

He “liked” a photo of the judge on Stone’s case alongside crosshairs — an image that landed Stone in hot water. Greco also shared an image on Instagram promoting the baseless conspiracy theory that Antifa stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The News previously identified Greco as being in Washington the day before the insurrecti­on and that morning. The cop was captured on video outside a D.C. hotel with Stone and members of the Oath Keepers militia, who were acting as bodyguards.

Greco was also with Stone on the day of Stone’s sentencing in February 2020. A newspaper photograph shows Greco walking dutifully right behind Stone as he leaves the courthouse after he was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.

New photos and video from a December Proud Boys rally in Washington and the morning of Jan. 6 captured Greco in Stone’s entourage. Davis said the NYPD officer had no official security role and was just a close friend of her and Stone.

“He’s an NYPD officer. It’s in his nature to be sort of protective. He never acted as an official bodyguard or was paid for that sort of thing. He’s a patriot. He’s a Trump supporter,” Davis told the Daily News in an interview. She said Greco became a good friend to her and Stone roughly two years ago after meeting at an event.

Greco is under investigat­ion by the NYPD Internal AffairsBur­eau. An NYPD spokesman declined to comment.

At least five Oath Keepers who provided security to Stone have been charged with participat­ing in the insurrecti­on. Davis said she, Stone and Greco stayed at the Willard InterConti­nental hotel and did not attend Trump’s speech or the insurrecti­on.

But informatio­n uncovered by online sleuths using the Twitter handle @CTexposers and verified by The News shows that Greco is friends with a Venmo account belonging to Joshua James, an accused Oath Keeper from Alabama charged with storming the Capitol in military-style gear hours after protecting Stone.

“All our normal security was booked. These guys [the Oath Keepers] volunteere­d. We needed someone and they were really very profession­al,” Davis said.

On Jan. 5, Stone, Davis and other high-profile right-wing personalit­ies participat­ed in a rally at Freedom Plaza. Davis guessed that Greco likely met

James at that time.

“There were literally 50 of us staying at the Willard hotel. I think all the guys, when things were done, just kind of hung out a bit,” Davis said.

James’ Venmo account, “OKAlabama,” only has 18 friends, including Greco and James’ wife, Audrey. There are no public transactio­ns between Greco and the account.

“I’ve never heard of Sal Greco. I haven’t heard of his name, never seen anything about him,” Audrey James said. She declined to comment about the purpose of the OKAlabama account.

Davis guessed that Greco’s phone contacts had synced with Venmo and that he’d never actually shared funds with the accused rioter.

Greco also received a payment on Venmo from Stone’s wife, Nydia, on July 27 for “expense reimbursem­ents.”

Much of Greco’s social media has been deleted. But a deeper dive into his posts that are still online shows he shared reviews of pizza and keeps close track of his workouts.

Photos reveal Greco has been present at more far right gatherings than previously known. He cuts an imposing figure, often just behind Stone’ shoulder

Stone encouraged his 111,000 followers on Parler to follow Greco, who used the handle @ Mesomorph2­1 — an apparent reference to Greco’s affinity for working out. Mesomorph is a strong, solid body type.

“I strongly urge patriots to follow @Mesomorph2­1 here on Parler. He will soon be exposing some within our own ranks who are actually plants by the Deep State!”

Stone continues: “You will be shocked when he unveils each name one by one. He has been instructed to release the entire list if anything happens to me. FOLLOW @Mesomorph2­1.” The post featured a photo of Stone, with Greco in the background.

Greco attended a fund-raiser on Staten Island to cover Stone’s legal costs in June 2019, according to an Instagram post by another Stone supporter.

He was photograph­ed standing near Proud Boys “Sergeant of Arms” Ethan Nordean at a rally in Washington on July 6, 2019. Nordean is accused of leading the first wave of rioters who breached the Capitol.

Greco was part of Stone’s entourage at sentencing.

Stone, a shameless fabulist, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 that he had a source in the NYPD with knowledge of compromisi­ng informatio­n about the Clintons.

“I have no interest in addressing these questions on the record,” Stone wrote in a text to The News. He’s previously denied any involvemen­t in the insurrecti­on and called for rioters to be prosecuted.

In October Greco dined with Stone, Davis, Kerik and other prominent right-wingers, an Instagram photo shows.

“I’ve met him a few times with Roger. Never had any real conversati­on with him — didn’t know what he did in the NYPD. I never thought he was working in a security capacity for Roger, or anybody else for that matter,” Kerik said.

A Police Benevolent Associatio­n lawyer declined to comment on Greco’s behalf due to the ongoing NYPD probe. Greco did not respond to questions from The News.

Davis said she hadn’t spoken to Greco since Internal Affairs began investigat­ing. She’d received word through a mutual friend that “he’s not allowed to be your friend anymore,” she said.

“I feel really badly his name is getting dragged through the mud for just being our friend,” she said.

“I guess once you’re a felon you’re always a felon, no matter how much you try to rehabilita­te yourself.”

 ??  ?? Officer Sal Greco
Officer Sal Greco
 ??  ?? NYPD Officer Sal Greco (above) has been keeping questionab­le company with right-wing figures including provocateu­r Roger Stone (r.) and people who had ties to the Capitol riot (opposite page).
NYPD Officer Sal Greco (above) has been keeping questionab­le company with right-wing figures including provocateu­r Roger Stone (r.) and people who had ties to the Capitol riot (opposite page).
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States