Former N.Y. Top Cop Defends Three Ex-Commanders

March 3, 2012
Former Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey on Friday strongly defended three of his former high-ranking officers accused of scuttling a criminal case against a police benefactor's son suspected in a school burglary.

March 03--TRAVELERS REST, S.C. -- Former Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey on Friday strongly defended three of his former high-ranking officers accused of scuttling a criminal case against a police benefactor's son suspected in a school burglary.

While not referring to that case, Mulvey said complaints involving schools and kids often get resolved outside of the criminal justice system.

"It's been my experience in 38 years of policing that there are many cases that come to the police department of this nature -- incidents at schools, involving kids -- that are handled civilly," Mulvey said. "The police may initially intervene, but a resolution is worked out between the parties civilly."

On Thursday, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice's office indicted former second deputy commissioner William Flanagan, former deputy chief of patrol John Hunter and former deputy commander of the Seventh Precinct Squad Alan Sharpe on conspiracy and misconduct charges stemming from their actions during an investigation of a May 2009 burglary at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore.

A law enforcement source identified the father and son described in the indictment as Zachary Parker and his father, Gary Parker, of Merrick.

In an interview from his South Carolina home, Mulvey said he has known Hunter and Flanagan for about 25 years. He said that he didn't know Sharpe as well, but called him a "genuinely fine, young, family man, a solid individual."

"I've given the benefit of the doubt to these three men because I know them," Mulvey said. "They're good people and at the end of the day, I think justice will prevail."

Flanagan and Hunter retired Wednesday and Sharpe left the force in January. The three former commanders all pleaded not guilty at Nassau County Court in Mineola.

Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Dale is worried about the indictment's accusations. "These allegations are certainly a concern," he said.

Mulvey said that he did not learn about the burglary case until many months later. The district attorney has never reached out to him about the case, he said.

Stressing that he is not talking about the investigation into what happened at the Bellmore high school, Mulvey said that, based on his experience, the outcome of an allegation can depend on a variety of circumstances.

"I don't know the specifics of this case. But my point is this is not an unusual outcome for this kind of case," Mulvey said. "For a student in a school that's implicated in some sort of alleged criminal activity, . . . whose parents are upstanding citizens in the community -- I think he had a sibling in the same school -- it's not unusual that those things are resolved in the manner in which it [the Parker case] was resolved."

Citing the indictment unsealed Thursday, district attorney spokesman John Byrne said, "In this case the victim consistently wanted to press criminal charges and the police committed a crime when they refused to make an arrest to benefit the suspect's father."

Richard Klein, a criminal law professor at Touro Law School, said major crimes normally are prosecuted. "When there is a felony committed, and there's strong evidence, and the victim wishes to bring charges," Klein said, "it's virtually unheard of for the police department to not do anything about it."

Police do have discretion in minor cases, such as routine traffic stops or jaywalking, Klein said, but never in serious cases where there is strong evidence.

"Lady justice is blind," he said. "The law is supposed to treat the son of a wealthy contributor to the police department the same as the son of a homeless man."

The indictment accused Sharpe of planting false information about the case in an official file; it said that Flanagan accepted hundreds of dollars in gift cards from the son's father, a Manhattan accounting firm partner who prosecutors said is a "financial benefactor of the police"; and it accused Hunter of interfering with "a felony investigation to prevent the arrest" of the benefactor's son.

In addition, a law enforcement source said an unidentified officer tried to dupe the John F. Kennedy High School principal into signing an agreement not to pursue charges against the son.

The Bellmore-Merrick School District said in statement Friday that it "never agreed to drop the charges against the subject perpetrator."

In the interview, Mulvey said Parker is a friend. "I met him years ago," Mulvey said. "He's been a big supporter of the police, whether it be a fundraiser for a family in need or whatever it may be."

Parker paid $17,000 for meals with police officers over the course of several years, a law enforcement source said.

The former commissioner said he asked Parker to do some pro bono accounting work for the Nassau County Police Department Foundation in early 2010. The foundation was set up in 2008 by Mulvey to raise $24 million to help build a police academy.

Parker served on the foundation's board from March 2010 until he resigned in April 2011, according to Alexandra Nigolian, the foundation's executive director.

Rice's office said Thursday, "The investigation found no criminality on the part of the Nassau County Police Department Foundation."

Mulvey said Parker never asked him for any favors regarding the accusation against his son and that he didn't even tell him about it until many months later.

Zachary Parker, 20, was in Nassau County Court on Friday to face the burglary charges that Rice's office brought last fall. His case was adjourned until next Thursday.

With Robert Brodsky, Ann Givens and Joie Tyrrell

Copyright 2012 - Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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