3 NYPD Cops From LI Arrested In Bribery Scheme: U.S. Attorney

LONG ISLAND, NY — Two current and one former New York City police officers from Long Island were arrested Tuesday and charged in a nine-count indictment for taking bribes, officials said. One is also facing drug and weapon charges.

Heather Busch, 34, of Massapequa; Robert Hassett, 36, of Farmingville; and Robert Smith, 44, of Plainview, were arrested. Busch and Hassett are current members of the NYPD. Smith retired in March 2020. They were all assigned to the 105th Precinct in Queens during the time the crimes were committed, officials said.

The three are facing five counts of using interstate facilities to commit bribery and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act, officials said. Smith is also charged with attempting to transport at least a kilogram of heroin and having a firearm on him during that crime, according to officials.

“As alleged, the defendants shamelessly violated their oaths of office and the public trust by trading their badges for cash payments,” stated Acting United States Attorney Mark Lesko. “This office will vigorously pursue corrupt public servants like these defendants, who exploited their positions as police officers for personal gain.”

According to officials, NYPD officers are required to use a computer system called the Directed Accident Response Program (DARP) when responding to auto accidents. The program randomly selects a licensed tow truck business to respond to the scene to ensure that no one business gets favorable treatment from the police department.

According to Lesko, starting in September 2016, Smith and Hassett purposefully bypassed the DARP system and directed business to an unnamed towing company in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash bribes. Smith and Hassett continued with the scheme until at least June 2017, Lesko said, when they temporarily stopped.

In November 2019, Smith once again began steering damaged vehicles to the towing business in exchange for bribes, Lesko said. In January 2020, Smith discussed recruiting Busch into the arrangement with the owner of the towing business, officials said. Smith and Busch met with the owner in March, and officials say Busch agreed to participate. Since then, she would also send damaged vehicles to the towing company for bribes, officials said.

In addition to giving the owner of the towing company preferential treatment to access car crashes, officials say that, starting in January 2020, Smith and Hassett began to get the names and information of recent car accident victims from the NYPD database and would give it to the company owner in exchange for cash. Officials say the officers knew that the owner would then sell that information to physical therapy businesses and personal injury attorneys.

Officials say that Hassett would often access the information and give it to Smith to pass to the tow company owner. The owner would then give cash to Smith, who would share it with Hassett, officials allege. From January to March 2020, officials say the officers sold the identifying information of more than 100 people in exchange for more than $7,000.

Prosecutors also allege that, starting in January 2020, Smith started to talk to the tow company owner about transporting drugs for them in exchange for cash once Smith retired from the NYPD. In June 2020, officials say Smith met with two people to discuss participating in drug trafficking, and told them that he could carry a gun and his identification as a retired NYPD officer while doing so.

In July 2020, officials say Smith met with a person in Brooklyn and accepted a bag containing what he believed to be a kilogram of heroin and transported it to Queens. He was given about $1,200 cash for it, officials say.

In other court documents, officials allege that Smith participated in other, as-yet uncharged crimes, including shaking down individuals and businesses for bribes. He also said in text messages obtained during the investigation that he would deliberately point his gun at Black people (whom he used a racial slur to describe) to see their reaction and then drive away, officials said. He also wrote that he wanted to see "mass suicide and death" among his fellow NYPD officers, according to court documents.

“Behavior like the type alleged today is a disgrace. It erodes public trust in law enforcement and tarnishes the reputations of the many thousands of officers who honorably serve our communities on a daily basis," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. "The FBI and NYPD stand together on this — our shared oath is to uphold the law and protect the public. Nobody is above the law, and we will not tolerate illegal behavior, especially among the ranks of sworn law enforcement officers.”