The latest shock came yesterday, when a Manhattan federal court jury acquitted former NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant on charges he took bribes in return for special police favors for businessman Jeremy Reichberg.
The same jury convicted Reichberg, a major donor to Mayor Bill de Blasio, of paying bribes to other police officials — but not to Grant.
Post-trial interviews suggest that jurors accepted the same argument used successfully by other indicted officials, including New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez: This was just two old friends helping each other out — and what are friends for?
You can understand why prosecutors were confident: They had emails, wiretaps and testimony from key figures in what they charged was an elaborate bribery scheme.
They even had the testimony of a confessed prostitute who said she was paid to have sex with Grant during an all-expense-paid private jet flight to Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend 2013.
But the jury refused to believe her.
Just as it didn’t buy the testimony of fellow businessman and de Blasio donor Jona Rechnitz, at least where Grant was concerned.
But it did believe that Reichberg bribed other top police officials who’d cut plea deals with prosecutors.
Former police Deputy Inspector James Grant turned red and teared up as the verdict clearing him was read. He patted his friend and convicted co-defendant Jeremy Reichberg on the back and told him, “You’ll be OK.”
The trial, which began Nov. 6, revealed how Reichberg, 44, showered gifts upon numerous police officers in an effort to cultivate them as allies. The jury, in its third day of deliberations, found that Grant, 45, was not among the compromised cops.
John Meringolo, lawyer for the cleared ex-cop, thanked the jury for its decision.
“I’m very happy Jimmy gets this opportunity to rebuild his life,” said Meringolo. “I’m just happy for Jimmy and his family — what they put his family through, it’s not nice.”
“I felt for him. He was a dupe,” juror Ives Bonilla, 67, said of Grant.
The only gift the government proved Grant received from Reichberg and Rechnitz was an American Girl doll for his daughter on Christmas 2013, the juror said.
“He was charged based on a doll! He was a good cop, a cop’s cop,” said Bonilla said.
Another juror, who only gave her name as Joanne, said she was “absolutely” surprised prosecutors brought the case against Grant.
“We needed evidence. There wasn’t enough,” she said. “It looked like (prosecutors) were rushing the case.”
Reichberg, who faces a maximum of 65 years, was convicted of bribery conspiracy, honest services fraud and obstruction of justice in a scheme beginning in 2008. The jury acquitted him of one count: bribing Grant.
Rechnitz, his buddy, spent more than a week on the witness stand as part of a cooperation agreement with the government. He testified that both he and Reichberg showered police with gifts like fancy meals, vacations and tickets to sporting events as part of a plan to monetize their access to the NYPD by making themselves look like big shots.
Reichberg charged around $1,000 to at least two people seeking to get out of jail quickly after arrests, while Rechnitz — a wealthy liar with dreams of being a real estate bigwig — boasted about his “lights and sirens” rides around the city that allowed him to cut through traffic.
The men became partners in crime after Rechnitz noticed that Reichberg had obtained a coveted parking placard by falsely representing himself as a police chaplain.
“He was the guy who dealt with all the police and the details,” Rechnitz said of Reichberg. “I was the money man.”
A male juror who declined to give his name called Rechnitz “a lying piece of sh--.” And the convicted businessman’s attorney, Susan Necheles, promised to appeal the verdict.
“So much irrelevant garbage came into evidence,” she said, referring to allegations against officers who weren’t on trial.
Reichberg, though disappointed for himself, was “very happy for his friend Jimmy Grant,” Necheles added.
Prosecutors alleged that Grant, the ex commanding officer of the 19th Precinct in the Upper East Side, was the most enthusiastic cop under Reichberg and Rechnitz’s spell.
“You are like a permanent tattoo on me,” Grant told Reichberg in 2015.
“That’s the point,” Reichberg replied.
Rechnitz recalled Reichberg insisting they keep Grant happy. “He’s so good, he does things when we call him,” Reichberg said of Grant, according to Rechnitz.
But jurors were not persuaded that Grant did anything illegal for the pair. Prosecutors said that Grant secured a hard-to-obtain NYPD gun permit for Reichberg and made efforts to help Rechnitz get the same license. But Grant argued that he did not influence the licensing process. Prosecutors said Grant inquired about arrests on Reichberg’s behalf. But the cop argued that he didn’t actually influence the outcome of those cases.
Wiretaps showed that Grant got cranky when he felt Reichberg and Rechnitz were no longer giving him attention.
“First of all, the two Jewish f---ing elves didn’t come for Christmas,” Grant complained to Reichberg in 2015.
But Meringolo said Grant was just “busting chops” with his friend.
Most notoriously, Rechnitz and Reichberg allegedly took Grant and two other cops, Mike Milici and Marco Franco, on a private flight to Las Vegas in 2013. A prostitute, Gabi Grecko, accompanied the men on the trip that cost around $65,000 total. Grecko took the stand during the trial and said that Grant had paid her a paltry sum of around $2,000 for the whole trip.
“I was not very happy. It was not very much...That many days with those type of people,” Grecko, 29, said. “It was a long weekend.”
But one juror, Joanne, found the whole raunchy episode not credible.“She was drugged-up. It looked like she was on something,” Joanne said, recalling Grecko’s testimony.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said “we respect the verdict as to James Grant.”
“Jeremy Reichberg orchestrated a years-long bribery scheme that led to tens of thousands of dollars in benefits being provided to a select group of NYPD officers to provide Reichberg with a private, paid police force. These illegal acts clearly undermine the mission of the NYPD and leave the citizens of New York City poorer,” Berman said.
Former police Deputy Inspector James Grant turned red and teared up as the verdict clearing him was read. He patted his friend and convicted co-defendant Jeremy Reichberg on the back and told him, “You’ll be OK.”
The trial, which began Nov. 6, revealed how Reichberg, 44, showered gifts upon numerous police officers in an effort to cultivate them as allies. The jury, in its third day of deliberations, found that Grant, 45, was not among the compromised cops.
John Meringolo, lawyer for the cleared ex-cop, thanked the jury for its decision.
“I’m very happy Jimmy gets this opportunity to rebuild his life,” said Meringolo. “I’m just happy for Jimmy and his family — what they put his family through, it’s not nice.”
“I felt for him. He was a dupe,” juror Ives Bonilla, 67, said of Grant.
The only gift the government proved Grant received from Reichberg and Rechnitz was an American Girl doll for his daughter on Christmas 2013, the juror said.
“He was charged based on a doll! He was a good cop, a cop’s cop,” said Bonilla said.
Another juror, who only gave her name as Joanne, said she was “absolutely” surprised prosecutors brought the case against Grant.
“We needed evidence. There wasn’t enough,” she said. “It looked like (prosecutors) were rushing the case.”
Reichberg, who faces a maximum of 65 years, was convicted of bribery conspiracy, honest services fraud and obstruction of justice in a scheme beginning in 2008. The jury acquitted him of one count: bribing Grant.
Rechnitz, his buddy, spent more than a week on the witness stand as part of a cooperation agreement with the government. He testified that both he and Reichberg showered police with gifts like fancy meals, vacations and tickets to sporting events as part of a plan to monetize their access to the NYPD by making themselves look like big shots.
Reichberg charged around $1,000 to at least two people seeking to get out of jail quickly after arrests, while Rechnitz — a wealthy liar with dreams of being a real estate bigwig — boasted about his “lights and sirens” rides around the city that allowed him to cut through traffic.
The men became partners in crime after Rechnitz noticed that Reichberg had obtained a coveted parking placard by falsely representing himself as a police chaplain.
“He was the guy who dealt with all the police and the details,” Rechnitz said of Reichberg. “I was the money man.”
A male juror who declined to give his name called Rechnitz “a lying piece of sh--.” And the convicted businessman’s attorney, Susan Necheles, promised to appeal the verdict.
“So much irrelevant garbage came into evidence,” she said, referring to allegations against officers who weren’t on trial.
Reichberg, though disappointed for himself, was “very happy for his friend Jimmy Grant,” Necheles added.
Prosecutors alleged that Grant, the ex commanding officer of the 19th Precinct in the Upper East Side, was the most enthusiastic cop under Reichberg and Rechnitz’s spell.
“You are like a permanent tattoo on me,” Grant told Reichberg in 2015.
“That’s the point,” Reichberg replied.
Rechnitz recalled Reichberg insisting they keep Grant happy. “He’s so good, he does things when we call him,” Reichberg said of Grant, according to Rechnitz.
But jurors were not persuaded that Grant did anything illegal for the pair. Prosecutors said that Grant secured a hard-to-obtain NYPD gun permit for Reichberg and made efforts to help Rechnitz get the same license. But Grant argued that he did not influence the licensing process. Prosecutors said Grant inquired about arrests on Reichberg’s behalf. But the cop argued that he didn’t actually influence the outcome of those cases.
Wiretaps showed that Grant got cranky when he felt Reichberg and Rechnitz were no longer giving him attention.
“First of all, the two Jewish f---ing elves didn’t come for Christmas,” Grant complained to Reichberg in 2015.
But Meringolo said Grant was just “busting chops” with his friend.
Most notoriously, Rechnitz and Reichberg allegedly took Grant and two other cops, Mike Milici and Marco Franco, on a private flight to Las Vegas in 2013. A prostitute, Gabi Grecko, accompanied the men on the trip that cost around $65,000 total. Grecko took the stand during the trial and said that Grant had paid her a paltry sum of around $2,000 for the whole trip.
“I was not very happy. It was not very much...That many days with those type of people,” Grecko, 29, said. “It was a long weekend.”
But one juror, Joanne, found the whole raunchy episode not credible.“She was drugged-up. It looked like she was on something,” Joanne said, recalling Grecko’s testimony.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said “we respect the verdict as to James Grant.”
“Jeremy Reichberg orchestrated a years-long bribery scheme that led to tens of thousands of dollars in benefits being provided to a select group of NYPD officers to provide Reichberg with a private, paid police force. These illegal acts clearly undermine the mission of the NYPD and leave the citizens of New York City poorer,” Berman said.
1 comment:
Reichberg is a Bobov alumnus like Ezra Friedlander and Chesky Blau.
What a disgrace.
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