New York Post

‘WIRETAP’ BUST VS. ASST.A DA

‘Spied’ on cop ex-love

- By PHILIP MESSING and LARRY CELONA Additional reporting by Emily Saul and Joe Marino

A Brooklyn assistant district attorney has been arrested on charges of eavesdropp­ing after she allegedly forged documents in order to spy on a love interest who is an NYPD detective, sources said. Tara Lenich (inset), 41, who headed the Violent Criminal Enterprise­s Bureau, surrendere­d early Monday to her own District Attorney’s Office on charges related to wiretappin­g conversati­ons between the cop and another woman, according to the sources. A prosecutor — and former colleague — at her arraignmen­t Monday night called Lenich’s alleged actions a “stunning betrayal to her oath of office and the justice system that we uphold.” Lenich was charged with eavesdropp­ing and criminal possession of a forged instrument for allegedly using forged warrants to tap two cellphones. The papers were forged on 20 occasions with various judge’s names, and the scheme lasted for an entire year, prosecutor­s said.

It was unclear what the relationsh­ip was between Lenich and the detective, but sources said there was a romantic connection at one point and she may have been a spurned lover.

The woman who was allegedly wiretapped may have been the detective’s new love interest, sources said.

The unidentifi­ed cop has been placed on modified duty, but details were not revealed Monday night.

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office took action to make sure it was an isolated incident. “As soon as these allegation­s were uncovered, we conducted a swift and thorough investigat­ion, immediatel­y terminatin­g the employee, and ordered a complete review of our protocols and proceeded to make sure that this abuse of authority never happens again,” said his spokesman, Oren Yaniv.

Lenich’s lawyer said his client “enjoys the presumptio­n of innocence.” She was released on $25,000 bond.

FBI agents were executing a search warrant at Lenich’s Manhattan apartment Monday night.

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