Nassau Cops Indicted Following Long Island Press Investigation

A March 31, 2011 Long Island Press cover story titled “Membership Has Its Privileges: Is NCPD Selling Preferential Treatment” has resulted in the indictments of three top Nassau County police officials by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office—one of those indicted being the county’s third-highest ranking cop—according to multiple sources.

Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan, Deputy Chief of Patrol John Hunter and retired Nassau County Police Department Detective Sergeant Al Sharpe are expected to be charged, say sources, for their role in squashing a May 2009 break-in at Bellmore’s John F. Kennedy High School in which more than $3,000 worth of electronic equipment was allegedly stolen.

[UPDATE: Nassau County Top Cops Surrender to District Attorney]

Zachary Parker

That incident and the thwarting of its subsequent police investigation were featured in the Pressarticle, along with the allegation from “detectives and officers involved in the case” that “calls from the commissioner’s office were made and police officers were pressured not to make an arrest, despite knowing the perpetrator,” it states.

That perpetrator, Zachary Parker, 20, of Merrick, whose name was kept out of the initial article but included in an October 20 follow-up titled “Press Article Sparks Investigation, Arrest,” is the son of Gary Parker, an associate of the nonprofit Nassau County Police Department Foundation, the Press reported. Zachary Parker was indicted by a grand jury on three felony counts related to the incident and charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property following an investigation by the Nassau District Attorney’s Office sparked by the March article.

“Police officers and detectives involved with the case have told the Press they were upset by the outcome but could do nothing as they allege that the orders came down from then-Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey’s office not to make an arrest,” the October story reads.

Then-Commissioner Mulvey retired from office the day after the Press’ March 31 story.

The Press will publish a more detailed expose on the most recent events surrounding the police department and the nonprofit Nassau County Police Department Foundation in next week’s issue.

“Membership Has Its Privileges” was the first installment of a five-part investigative series into the Nassau County Police Department and nonprofit Nassau County Police Department Foundation by the Long Island Press. Part II: “The NCPD Refuses to Show Us the Money” Part III: “What A Mess: New Revelations In Nassau County Police Crime Lab Scandal” Part IV: “Press Article Sparks Investigation, Arrest” Part V: “Cop Out: An Inside Look at the War Between the County and the Cops”