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Friday, March 16, 2012

LI - Nassau 'coverup' cops cash out of the force


It’s a steal of a deal.

Three high-ranking Nassau County cops who retired just before they got busted for allegedly making a teenager’s burglary charges disappear will get taxpayer-financed going-away presents as high as $450,000 — in addition to their generous pensions.

In all three cases, the so-called “termination payments’’ for career-long unused vacation pay, sick pay, compensatory time and other accrued holidays were so huge they had to be trimmed, because they exceeded the new cutoff cap of twice the final year’s salary.

Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan, 54, earned $515,666 in piled-up pay — but officials deducted $65,808 that went over the cap, for an estimated gross termination pay of $449,858.

Chief of Patrol John Hunter, 59, accumulated more — $536,133 — and he lost more — $120,831 — to the cutoff, for a gross termination pay estimated at $415,302.

Detective Sgt. Alan Sharpe, 54, retired in January and racked up $332,414 in total payout. He lost only $11,262 to the cap, for an estimated payout of $321,152.

Flanagan and Hunter filed for retirement after they were indicted on several charges, including official misconduct and conspiracy, but the day before they were arrested. Sharpe had put in his papers in January.

Neither the termination payments nor their pensions can be taken away even if they’re convicted and imprisoned.

The amount of their pensions has not yet been calculated.

A new law strips these benefits from crooked officials — but it applies only to those hired after last November.

The three cops allegedly ignored accusations that Zachary Parker, 18, ripped off equipment from his high school in 2009.

Parker is the son of wealthy accountant Gary Parker, a big shot in the Police Foundation, a private organization that raises millions for cops.

After the alleged police coverup became public, the younger Parker was finally arrested last October by Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

He was charged with stealing about $10,000 worth of audio- visual equipment and laptop computers from John F. Kennedy HS in Merrick.

In e-mails, his dad asked Flanagan and Hunter to arrange a civil settlement so his son would not be charged criminally.

The day after police falsely recorded that the high school did not want to press charges, the elder Parker thanked Flanagan in an e-mail and sent him a $350 gift card for Morton’s Steakhouse, sources say.

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