N.Y.’s Fakest in Rock Ctr. bust

THE NYPD BUSTED a serial imposter cop who showed up at the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony to “watch the cops’ backs,” the Daily News has learned.

Juan Gomez, a 42-year-old ex-con with a history of similar offenses, popped up at the Wednesday night ceremony posing as a plainclothes cop, sources said.

He was wearing an “NYPD Youth Services” T-shirt, a duty belt, and a gold shield that read “N.Y.C. Community Chief #2837.”

Gomez also had a bogus ID identifying him as a “community chief.” And he was wearing several colored arm bands similar to those worn by undercovers as the “color of the day” to identify themselves to fellow officers.

Gomez was busted about 8:15 p.m. when an Emergency Services Unit officer perched with binoculars on a rooftop detected the suspect at a restricted-access entry point at Sixth Ave. and W. 48th St.

Suspicious, the cop sent word down to officers on the street. Gomez allegedly identified himself to a lieutenant as a police officer who was there to “watch the cops’ backs.”

But after determining Gomez wasn’t the real thing, cops arrested him for criminal impersonation of a police officer, sources said. Gomez was ordered held on $500 bail during his Thursday arraignment.

Gomez has 10 prior arrests, including some that involved impersonation and use of fake ID or other documents, police sources said.

In 2012 he was spotted stationed at an NYPD barrier at W. 159th St. and Amsterdam Ave. wearing a Youth Services hat and T-shirt, a bullet-resistant vest and a fully loaded duty belt — handcuffs, a flashlight, pepper spray and a “security enforcement officer” shield.

At first, he refused to identify himself. “I work with you guys,’’ he allegedly told officers at the time. “I’m on a case. I can’t ID myself here on the streets.”

He was convicted of impersonation and sentenced to time served.

In 1995, he was accused of displaying a fake Transit Authority shield so he and others with him could enter the subway for free at Penn Station.