IRONY
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; BUSINESS UNIONISM
2023/08/03
Ex-police union boss Ed Mullins leaving Manhattan Federal Courthouse, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, New York City.
- Shawn Inglima/New York Daily News/TNS
The disgraced former head of the NYPD sergeants union, Ed Mullins, pleaded for mercy Thursday before a judge sentenced him to two years in federal prison and three years post-release supervision for looting his union’s treasury.
“Any sentence is tragic,” Manhattan federal court Judge John Koetl said. “But the tragedy of the sentence is certainly caused by the defendant’s actions.”
The firebrand ex-union chief said he had lost more than his post upon his federal arrest and conviction for plundering $600,000 from the Sergeants Benevolent Association through bogus expense reports.
“Although I regret everything that has led me to this day, I remain motivated to make this right, to correct my flaws, and to restore to all those who’ve I injured,” Mullins said at his Manhattan federal court sentencing.
“I make no excuses. I made an incredibly bad decision,” he continued. “However, no experience has changed me more than to be the accused of the criminal charge to which I stand here before you, now awaiting judgment.”
Mullins, 61, saw his legacy tarnished when he was stripped of his gun and shield following an October 2021 raid on his Long Island home and the union’s Manhattan offices.
He surrendered on charges in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January in a deal with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office.
Mullins,who asked for no prison time, said he was in a dark place after becoming a convicted felon.
“Your Honor, I offer these words to be placed on the record in the hope that others will learn and realize the result of what happens when good men fall from grace,” Mullins said in court Thursday.
“For nearly 22 months, I have been existing in the shell of the man I used to be. I live daily in a world of regret with an unforgiving soul that never seems to heal. Life has completely crashed all around me, leaving me with a great deal of time to think.”
Prosecutors said Mullins billed the union for home appliances, a relative’s college tuition, meals at high-end restaurants, designer clothing, jewelry, and other pricey purchases through fake or inflated expense reports.
In the fallout over the Mullins probe, SBA citywide secretary Paul Capotosto was ousted after the federal indictment said he rubber-stamped Mullins’ inflated expenses without requiring receipts.
After joining the NYPD at age 20, Mullins rose to detective and then sergeant before becoming president of the fifth-largest police union in the country in 2002. He remained head of the union for almost two decades.
In his final years on the force, the loudmouth labor boss developed a reputation for incendiary tweets, directing racist and misogynistic comments at elected officials and their relatives.
\-------
© New York Daily News
The disgraced former head of the NYPD sergeants union, Ed Mullins, pleaded for mercy Thursday before a judge sentenced him to two years in federal prison and three years post-release supervision for looting his union’s treasury.
“Any sentence is tragic,” Manhattan federal court Judge John Koetl said. “But the tragedy of the sentence is certainly caused by the defendant’s actions.”
The firebrand ex-union chief said he had lost more than his post upon his federal arrest and conviction for plundering $600,000 from the Sergeants Benevolent Association through bogus expense reports.
“Although I regret everything that has led me to this day, I remain motivated to make this right, to correct my flaws, and to restore to all those who’ve I injured,” Mullins said at his Manhattan federal court sentencing.
“I make no excuses. I made an incredibly bad decision,” he continued. “However, no experience has changed me more than to be the accused of the criminal charge to which I stand here before you, now awaiting judgment.”
Mullins, 61, saw his legacy tarnished when he was stripped of his gun and shield following an October 2021 raid on his Long Island home and the union’s Manhattan offices.
He surrendered on charges in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January in a deal with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office.
Mullins,who asked for no prison time, said he was in a dark place after becoming a convicted felon.
“Your Honor, I offer these words to be placed on the record in the hope that others will learn and realize the result of what happens when good men fall from grace,” Mullins said in court Thursday.
“For nearly 22 months, I have been existing in the shell of the man I used to be. I live daily in a world of regret with an unforgiving soul that never seems to heal. Life has completely crashed all around me, leaving me with a great deal of time to think.”
Prosecutors said Mullins billed the union for home appliances, a relative’s college tuition, meals at high-end restaurants, designer clothing, jewelry, and other pricey purchases through fake or inflated expense reports.
In the fallout over the Mullins probe, SBA citywide secretary Paul Capotosto was ousted after the federal indictment said he rubber-stamped Mullins’ inflated expenses without requiring receipts.
After joining the NYPD at age 20, Mullins rose to detective and then sergeant before becoming president of the fifth-largest police union in the country in 2002. He remained head of the union for almost two decades.
In his final years on the force, the loudmouth labor boss developed a reputation for incendiary tweets, directing racist and misogynistic comments at elected officials and their relatives.
\-------
© New York Daily News
No comments:
Post a Comment