Prison for ex-NYPD cop for smuggle illegal guns

Joseph Trischitta

A retired NYPD cop who helped smuggle illegal guns into the city was hit with a 40-month prison sentence yesterday by a judge who blasted his “heinous” and “incomprehensible” crimes.

Joseph Trischitta stood shamefaced as Manhattan federal Judge William Pauley III noted this year’s escalating gun violence against cops, including Wednesday’s shooting of Sgt. Craig Bier in Queens.

“If things had gone according to your plan, there would be three M-16 rifles, a shotgun and 16 handguns out on the streets of this city,” Pauley said.

“The crime in the abstract is horrific, but it’s compounded by the fact that you were a police officer and you knew exactly what damage you would unleash on the community and your fellow police officers.”

Pauley ridiculed Trischitta’s claim that he got involved in the smuggling ring — run by then-NYPD cop William Masso — because he wanted to “get out of the house and be with the guys.”

“You could have gone golfing or to a baseball game,” he said.

Pauley also ordered Trischitta, 43, to forfeit the $11,500 he made from the smuggling scheme, which was part of an FBI sting operation. The guns never reached the street.

He imposed a $50,000 fine, saying it was equal to one year’s take-home pay from Trischitta’s time on the police force.

Trischitta, a decorated, second-generation cop, broke down while reading a prepared plea for mercy in which he described retiring from the NYPD to take care of his severely disabled 17-year-old son because his wife could no longer handle the boy.

Defense lawyer Eric Franz finished reading the statement after Trischitta choked up and sat down, wiping tears from his eyes.

Earlier, Franz argued for a sentence of one year and one day, followed by up to five years’ house arrest so Trischitta could care for his son.

“He’s a good man who did a stupid thing,” Franz said.

Pauley, however, said a trust fund set up for the boy as the result of a suit against the hospital where he was treated as an infant would help provide for him.

The judge also rejected a defense request to recommend Trischitta be locked up in Fort Dix, NJ.

The defense said the ex-cop would need to be sent far from New York for his safety.

NY POST