Costly cop bribes
Blaz donor gets 4 yrs. for corrupting Finest
Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for bribing NYPD cops in a gifts-for-favors scandal.
Reichberg, 45, cried in Manhattan Federal Court before being sentenced, saying he had acted “like an adolescent” enthralled by the “glitz and glamour” that comes with powerful friends.
Over seven years he developed remarkable access at 1 Police Plaza by treating cops to fancy dinners and vacations in exchange for official favors. He and his fellow cop-briber Jona Rechnitz, who cooperated with prosecutors and is awaiting sentencing, gave cops a steady stream of gifts. Most notoriously, Rechnitz and Reichberg took a prostitute and two cops on a private flight to Las Vegas in February 2013.
“The public does not expect officials, including the chief of department, to spend time catering to the whims of well-heeled donors,” Judge Gregory Woods said on Monday. “This case was about much more than dollars and sense. It’s about the corruption of an important public institution.”
In a nearly two-month trial, Rechnitz testified that he and Reichberg received special treatment from City Hall after donating over $100,000 to Mayor de Blasio’s favorite causes.
The federal investigation resulted in two years’ probation for former Deputy Chief Michael Harrington, who copped to misusing police resources as favors for Reichberg and Rechnitz. ExDeputy Inspector James (Jimmy) Grant was acquitted at trial of taking bribes. Reichberg was found guilty at the same trial of conspiracy, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and bribery charges. Reichberg was also slapped with a $50,000 fine.
In exchange for the gifts to cops, Rechnitz and Reichberg received official favors that made them look like big shots. Reichberg arranged a flyover of NYPD helicopters while aboard a party boat in the East River. He got police escorts for friends and a gun license he admitted he didn’t need. He doled out gifts to obtain coveted parking placards that allowed him to park without fear of getting a ticket. Reichberg promoted himself as a “police liaison” within his Borough Park community.
“For years, Jeremy Reichberg forged corrupt relationships with law enforcement through a stream of illegal payments and financial benefits. In doing so, he eroded public confidence in the lifeblood of the city – an impartial New York City Police Department that treats all citizens equally,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.
“He then attempted to cover it up by hiding evidence of his crimes. Rather than buying himself special treatment and influence, Reichberg’s efforts have secured him multiple federal convictions and a significant prison sentence.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Bell said Reichberg was guilty of a particularly damaging form of corruption, arguing that he had undermined faith in one of the most important institutions in the city: the NYPD. “This is a unique case because of how high it went up the supervisory ranks,” Bell said.
During his remarks to the court, Reichberg said he was “devastated” that he’d destroyed the careers of cops whom he had considered friends.
As he was speaking, four high-ranking officers forced into retirement in 2016 amid the bribery probe filed a lawsuit against the city arguing they were wrongly made scapegoats for the scandal despite never being charged.