Superstorm Sandy has forced a postponement of the trial date for an ex-Nassau County police official accused of covering up a burglary committed by a police benefactor’s son.
Jury selection was set to begin this month in the case again ex-Second Deputy Nassau County Police Commissioner William Flanagan but was pushed back to Jan. 3 because of storm-related issues, according to a spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.
Flanagan pleaded not guilty in March to conspiracy and misconduct along with his two co-defendants, former Deputy Chief of Patrol John Hunter and retired Det. Sgt. Alan Sharpe.
Prosecutors alleged the trio helped nix the investigation into 20-year-old Zachary Parker of Merrick, who is serving prison time after violating his probation for stealing $11,000 electronics from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore in 2009.
Parker’s father, Gary, donated to and is a former member of a nonprofit police foundation building a new police academy at Nassau Community College. Neither the father nor son have been charged in connection with the alleged cover-up.
A grand jury indicted the three ex-cops following an investigation that was sparked by a 2011 Press expose.
Two Nassau judges recused themselves before a Suffolk County judge was was tapped to preside over the case this fall.
Sharpe and Hunter are due back in court Dec. 7. They will be tried separately from Flanagan.