Westchester prosecutors are investigating whether Tuckahoe police officers let a drunk off-duty NYPD cop go without an arrest after he smashed his car into a light pole and parking meter.
The incident came to light in a taped phone conversation between two other NYPD officers that is part of a wide-ranging New York City probe of ticket fixing by cops.
The tape did not reveal the location of the accident or the last names of the police involved, but The Journal News contacted Tuckahoe officials this morning because of certain details on the tape.
Police Chief John Costanzo initially said he was unaware of the incident but, after checking into it, confirmed this afternoon that his department did respond to the Sagamore Road accident early on April 18, 2010, and that it involved a 27-year-old off-duty New York City cop who lives in the village.
He said he has since been in contact with the Westchester County District Attorney's Office and would be investigating the matter as well.
"Certainly, any time you see that people are treated differently, it's disturbing," Costanzo said. "But it's an allegation. My job is to try to get to the facts.
According to the tape, the cops offered to give their brother officer summonses related to erratic driving and property damage, with no reference to driving while intoxicated — although he would have to pay for the damage.
But the cop, from the 19th Precinct on Manhattan's Upper East Side, wasn't cooperating.
A sergeant at the scene then went to the nearby home of a friend, another NYPD cop, named Chris, to help convince the driver that they were doing him a favor.
"(The sergeant) says 'Chris, I've got one of your guys down the block and he's bombed, bad,'" the sergeant's friend recounted in the taped conversation.
"He goes, 'Get in my car and (expletive) have this guy sign these (expletive) summonses. He's fighiting us.' I'm like, all right, let's go.
The drunk cop demanded his PBA delegate be called and eventually took the summonses after speaking with his union official.
The conversation that was taped came the next day when the cop who was woken up to help called another cop about it. The conversation was first reported this week by DNAinfo.com, which obtained the recording and posted it on its website.
A grand jury investigation into ticket fixing by dozens of police officers is ongoing in the Bronx, and the NYPD is conducting its own probe, according to published reports.
The public integrity bureau of the Westchester District Attorney's Office has begun looking into the Tuckahoe matter and has reached out to Bronx prosecutors.
"We're aware of the existence of the tape and we have opened an investigation," said spokesman Lucian Chalfen.
Costanzo said the off-duty officer was driving a 2007 Mercury Mountaineer about 12:45 a.m. when he struck the light pole and parking meter. The driver did not stop but was soon tracked down by police.
The chief acknowledged that his officers administered no sobriety tests and issued only two tickets for damaging village property. He said the violations were dismissed after the officer made restitution.
On the tape recording, the sergeant was identified only by his first name, John. The only such sergeant in the department last year, John Cuccinello, was working the day of the accident but the chief would not say if he responded to the accident.
The NYPD officers in the phone conversation agreed that the young officer had gotten away with a great deal by avoiding a DWI arrest, even if he had to pay for the damage.
If they made the accident report the right way, then it posts to his insurance anyway,” said the officer who received the call.
Chris responded by saying the Tuckahoe cops were helping in that regard also: “They said he could use his insurance; This was an erratic turn, causing property damage. Who gives a (expletive).”
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