Retired NYPD Lt. Paul Dean, 44, once the second in command of the NYPD’s License Division, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Wednesday to participating in a scam to expedite gun permit requests in return for paid vacations, food, liquor, cash and prostitutes, prosecutors say.
In announcing Dean’s plea, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said, “Paul Dean betrayed his duty as a former leader within the NYPD to protect and serve the public. Instead of assuring the integrity of the License Division he oversaw – a division charged with protecting the public safety by restricting access to firearms – he sought to corrupt it by bribing the very officers once under his command.”
According to court papers, from 2013 to 2016, Dean, along with other officers, solicited and accepted the bribes from gun licenses expediters whose clients sought gun permits in return for little or no investigation. Licenses were approved for individuals with criminal histories, including arrests and convictions for crimes involving weapons or violence, as well as histories of domestic violence.
Dean and another NYPD officer assigned to the License Division retired in 2016 and began a gun licensing expediting business of their own. They planned to bribe former colleagues still assigned to the NYPD’s License Division in return for special treatment for their clients, prosecutors say.
Dean, who was arrested by the FBI in April, 2017, faces up to five years in jail when he is sentenced in November.
Source – www.nbcnewyork.com