Bad-cop bling!
Say bribers gave crystal Blue persuasion
Two men accused of bribing NYPD officers handed out awards to their special friends at a 2013 Jets game, testimony revealed Wednesday.
Jona Rechnitz, who has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and is cooperating with the government, said he and Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg, 44, handed out fancy crystal trophies in a private suite at MetLife Stadium during a big game against the New England Patriots.
Among the recipients during the Oct. 20, 2013 “ceremony” were exDeputy Inspector James (Jimmy) Grant, former Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and former Deputy Chief David Colon, photos shown in court revealed.
“We gave him this crystal, said something about him and gave him this award,” Rechnitz, 35, said of Grant.
The trophies bearing a clear crystal football read “thank you for your friendship” and “Police Appreciation Day.”
Rechnitz said he covered the cost for the awards, suite and catered food.
Reichberg and Grant, 45, are on trial in Manhattan Federal Court for bribery.
Reichberg is accused of giving gifts like fancy meals, sports tickets and posh vacations to an array of officers.
Rechnitz said he and Reichberg treated Grant to those goodies, as well as a private flight to Las Vegas in 2013 with a prostitute.
The cop-corrupting duo ordered 18 awards, including ones for other cops who did not attend, Rechnitz said.
Some names that appeared on the trophies, like Inspector Tim Beaudette and Chief James Secreto, were of cops Rechnitz testified that he and Reichberg had hoped to cultivate.
But Secreto and Beaudette both rejected their attempts to draw them in, according to Rechnitz.
The name of then-Chief of Department Philip Banks also appeared on a trophy, but he didn’t show up.
“Banks (inset) was annoyed,” Rechnitz said. “He said he wasn’t going to come if other cops were there. He didn’t want to be at those events. He thought it was inappropriate to be there.”
Banks’ brother, however, was at the game. A huge Cowboys fan, Banks’ bro received a trophy with his nickname, Jerry Jones, Rechnitz said.
Harrington was sentenced to two years’ probation for his role in the bribes-for-favors scandal. Colon resigned in 2016 after being linked to the scandal, though his union rep said at the time it was for “personal reasons.”
The feds consider Colon and Banks “unindicted coconspirators.”
Meanwhile, Rechnitz also shed new light on his relationship with Mayor de Blasio.
His testimony further contradicted Hizzoner’s claim that he barely knew Rechnitz or Reichberg.
Evidence displayed in court showed that Rechnitz exchanged emails directly with the mayor about who to pick for the NYPD’s most prominent positions.
Rechnitz and Reichberg lobbied de Blasio aggressively to award the job of police commissioner to Banks in late 2013.
When Banks resigned from the department in October 2014, they pleaded with de Blasio to give Banks his old job back under Commissioner Bill Bratton.
“What can we do for you to refuse Banks’ resignation and get him back in? And for Bratton to see past Phil’s monstrous mistake?” Rechnitz wrote directly to de Blasio.