John Hunter, the Nassau County police former Deputy Chief of Patrol.

A former Nassau County police commander has admitted to helping cover up a burglary for his friend’s son in a conspiracy that another ex-police brass member was convicted of two months ago.

John Hunter, a retired Deputy Chief of Patrol, pleaded guilty Wednesday at Nassau County court to misdemeanor counts of conspiracy and official misconduct. The 60-year-old Oyster Bay man initially pleaded not guilty to those charges last year.

“I apologize for any embarrassment to the police department that I have loved and served for 35 years,” Hunter told the court. He later declined to comment to reporters while leaving the courtroom.

Judge Mark Cohen sentenced Hunter to three years of probation, 500 hours of community service and gave him a week to pay a $250 surcharge.

“It is fundamental to our democracy that the police…must treat all citizens fairly,” Cohen told Hunter after accepting the plea. “By your actions today…[you] have finally taken responsibility.”

Hunter will also be required to produce a Nassau police academy training video aimed at dissuading police cadets from committing misconduct by learning from his case. His Rockville Centre-based attorney, William Petrillo, said Hunter proposed that idea himself.

“If we wanted to, we could have filled this courtroom and courthouse with his supporters,” Petrillo said in court while noting only a small group of Hunter’s friends and family were among the two dozen in the gallery. “He is genuinely sorry for his actions.”

The plea comes after William Flanagan, the former second deputy police commissioner, was convicted of conspiracy and misconduct charges in February. A jury acquitted the 55-year-old Islip man of receiving reward for official misconduct, a felony.

Prosecutors alleged that Hunter, Flanagan and a third suspect—retired Det. Sgt. Alan Sharpe, 55, of Huntington Station, who’s due back in court May 15—conspired to quash the arrest of Zachary Parker, a 21-year-old Merrick man, for stealing $11,000 in electronics from his alma mater, John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, in 2009.

Will Fallout From Flanagan Conviction Strain Nassau Police Relations with the DA?

Parker’s father, Gary, had been affiliated with the Nassau County Police Department Foundation that is fundraising to build a new police academy in a public-private partnership. The younger Parker later pleaded guilty to burglary and was imprisoned upstate after he violated the terms of his probation sentence.

Gary Parker had been identified in court during Flanagan’s trial as an unindicted co-conspirator for using his connections among the police brass in an attempt to keep his son out of jail, but was not arrested himself. Prosecutors also cleared the foundation of wrongdoing.

Zachary Parker is on track for a July 18 completion of the Shock Incarceration Program, a six-month prison boot camp in which graduates become eligible for early release, according to a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Corrections. His start was delayed a month after he got into a fight his first day, but he faced up to three years in prison.

Flanagan has vowed to appeal his conviction. His next court date was adjourned to June 26.

The Nassau County district attorney’s investigators launched a probe into the case and later secured a grand jury indictment against the trio following a 2011 Press expose.

“We brought these cases to make sure that there isn’t one set of rules for the rich and connected and another for everyone else,” District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. “John Hunter violated his oath and the law when he gave special treatment to a wealthy friend’s son, and today’s guilty plea ensures that he will face serious consequences for his conduct.”

Nassau and Suffolk County police departments will be stepping up sobriety checkpoints across Long Island in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day Weekend drunk drivers.

Authorities across Long Island are taking precautionary measures in preparation for expected drunk drivers during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend.

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said this week that additional officers will be searching for DWI violators as part of the police department’s “STOP-DWI” program, which will run through the holiday weekend.

Suffolk police is also cracking down on drunk drivers. The department will disperse officers from all seven precincts and the Highway Patrol Bureau to county roads.

“Drivers should expect to see increased enforcement on the roadways throughout the weekend,” Suffolk police said in a news release.

New York State police said it will increase patrols beginning Friday and will add sobriety checkpoints throughout the Island. Police will also be keeping a close eye on anyone selling alcohol to minors.

“We are starting our enforcement St. Patrick’s Day weekend with full knowledge there will be numerous parties and events where alcohol may be consumed, and we are asking everyone who drinks to designate a driver or arrange safe transportation in advance,” said New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico.

Last year, troopers made 504 DWI arrest and issued 11,663 tickets.

While it is common for people to drink in celebration of a holiday weekend, officials urge everyone not to be careless, and rather have an alternate plan in case of intoxication.

“We want you to have a good time,” Mangano said. “However we ask that you make responsible and smart decisions during your celebrations, and plan accordingly so everyone can return home safely to their loved ones.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 31 percent of traffic deaths in the year 2010 were alcohol related. While drunk driving continues to be a national epidemic, Mangano and Dale said they are committed to bringing down that statistic.

“There will be additional police patrols all around Nassau County,” Mangano said, “and chances are if you drive drunk you will be arrested.”

Detectives charged 41-year-old Derek Arms for the alleged robbery and also for three other robberies that occurred in July. In all, he was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery. All of the incidents involved a worker delivering food for a Chinese restaurant, police said.

Arms was placed under arrest Wednesday at Nassau County Correctional Facility where he is incarcerated for another charge, police said.

On Sept. 9, police said Arms was allegedly armed with a large hunting knife during the robbery of the delivery woman in Uniondale.

The three other incidents occurred on July 12 and July 27 in Uniondale and July 28 in Roosevelt, police said. In all three cases, Arms was allegedly armed with what appeared to be a gun, police said.

Arms will be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Hempstead.

Detectives said the 66-year-old driver ended up in an empty lot on 17th Street in Jericho just before 10 p.m. when the customer, 41-year-old Donald Canham, gave the driver the wrong directions to a residence in Hicksville.

Canham asked the driver how much money he had and then told him to pull over into the empty lot, police said.

The retired law enforcement officer feared he was going to be robbed and pulled the cab to the curb, police said, identified himself and ordered Canham out of the cab.

When the driver exited the car to call 911, Canham allegedly charged him and struck him with an unknown object, police said. The driver then pulled out his licensed handgun and ordered Canham not to move, but was charged at again, “forcing the victim to fire his weapon striking the defendant in the leg,” police said in a news release.

Canham and the unidentified cab driver were taken to a local hospital for treatment—the driver with a head injury, and Canham with a non-life-threatening injury from the gunshot wound, police said.

Canham was charged with assault and will be arraigned when he’s healthy enough to do so, police said.

Detectives said 28-year-old Obadiah Johnson was attempting to sell heroin on the website, “backpage,” when detectives arranged to meet Johnson at a predetermined location on Sunnyside Boulevard in Plainview.

Police arrested Johnson when he arrived and recovered 20 bags of heroin and cash, police said.

Garden City police also assisted in the operation.

Johnson is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He will be arraigned Wednesday at First District Court in Hempstead.

Detectives said the man walked into Valley Deli on Elmont Road at 4:35 p.m. pretending he was armed and walked behind the counter where the 35-year-old store clerk was standing.

He grabbed an unknown amount of cash, police said, and helped himself to cigars and 15 cartons of Newport cigarettes before throwing them into a blue garbage bag that belonged to the store. The man left the store and was last seen heading east on Oliver Avenue, police said.

The store clerk wasn’t injured during the robbery. He described the robber as a black male, 5-feet, 6-inches tall, 30 years of age, wearing white gloves, a camouflage hoodie, an olive colored sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and the stocking mask, police said.

Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding the robbery to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.

William Flanagan surrendered to Nassau County prosecutors in March.

A jury has found former Nassau County Police Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan guilty of conspiracy and not guilty of receiving reward for official misconduct for helping a friend’s son escape arrest for a burglary.

Jurors handed down their verdict before Judge Mark Cohen shortly before 8 p.m. Friday. Flanagan had been convicted of two counts of official misconduct the night before, on Valentine’s Day. In all, he was convicted of three misdemeanors and acquitted of  the top charge, a felony.

“The jury took care of the felony, the Appellate Court’s going to take care of the misdemeanors,” Bruce Barket, Flanagan’s attorney, told reporters following the verdict, indicating that he’d be appealing.

“This isn’t over,” added Flanagan.

Prosecutors said that Flanagan helped quash the arrest and prosecution of his friend and wealthy police benefactor Gary Parker’s son Zachary, who stole more than $11,000 worth of computer and sound equipment from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore in 2009.

Gary testified during the trial that he gave Flanagan three $100 gift cards shortly after the property was returned, but the jury was not convinced that it was a quid pro quo.  Zachary pleaded guilty to the burglary after he was indicted following a 2011 Long Island Press story exposing the thefts and coverup.

That story also sparked an investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office that led to Flanagan’s March 2012 indictment, along with that of retired Det. Sgt. Alan Sharpe and former Deputy Chief of Patrol John Hunter, who also pleaded not guilty. They’re slated to be tried separately.

Flanagan’s sentencing has been scheduled for May 1.

“This case has always been about making sure that there isn’t one set of rules for the wealthy and connected, and another set for everyone else,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement Fright night.  “This is a huge win for the public, but it’s also a sad day for an awful lot of incredibly hard-working Nassau cops who do their brave jobs honestly every day. This case is a reminder that to safeguard the public’s trust and the integrity of our honest officers, we must be vigilant in our fight against corruption and misconduct.”

Most jurors declined to comment after they were released following the four-week-long trial, which included about a week of deliberations. One juror said the jury was convinced there was a conspiracy after reviewing the testimony of Deputy Inspector Lorna Atmore, the former Seventh Precinct Squad commander.

“We realized it was a conspiracy from the beginning from day one,” the juror said, referring to Atmore’s testimony that she she became concerned with Parker’s connections to police brass when the case came in just before she was promoted out of the unit. “They did what they did. They can’t undo that.”

NYPD Officer Peter Figoski

Two days after a North Carolina man was convicted in the slaying of a New York City police officer from West Babylon, a separate jury acquitted the man accused of driving the getaway car.

Michael Velez was found not guilty on burglary and murder charges Wednesday in the death of 47-year-old NYPD Officer Peter Figoski, who was fatally shot in the face in December 2011 while investigating a burglary in Brooklyn.

In his testimony, Velez told the court that he thought he was just giving the four other suspects a ride.

NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was critical of the verdict.

“When juries fail to comprehend the monstrous scale of a police officer’s murder, they fail society itself,” said Kelly in a statement. “God help us if other gunmen and  their getaway drivers take comfort in these verdicts because when a police officer is murdered society at-large is struck a mortal blow. It’s shameful that the family of Peter Figoski must be crushed again by another incomprehensible verdict.”

The New York City Police Benevolent Association was also clearly disappointed.

“This jury did not exhibit an ounce of the courage that Peter Figoski showed time and time again during his life as a police officer,” PBA President Patrick Lynch said in a statement. “This is a devastating verdict for all police officers and for the Figoski family. We are deeply disappointed that the jury completely disregarded the role that the defendant played in the death of a brave police officer.”

“While Peter’s tragic death brought our city together,” he continued, “today, this jury let the entire city down.”

Another jury Monday convicted the gunman, 28-year-old Lamont Pride, for Figoski’s murder. He was found guilty of second-degree murder, burglary and manslaughter. Prosecutors were not able to convince jurors to convict Pride on the top charge of first-degree murder.

Figoski’s partner chased down and arrested Pride after he shot and killed the decorated cop and father of four.

Two other suspects, 28-year-old Nelson Morales and 31-year-old Kevin Santos, have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. Meanwhile, a fifth suspect, 23-year-old Ariel Tejada, pleaded guilty and will testify against the two men in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Former Nassau County Police Department Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan inside Nassau County Court in January.

A jury must decide whether an ex-deputy Nassau County police commissioner committed a crime when he helped return property his friend and nonprofit collaborator’s son stole from school to avoid an arrest as prosecutors allege, or if there is not enough evidence to convict him of conspiring with other cops accused of initiating the alleged cover-up, as the defense argues.

Both sides made their closing arguments Thursday after jurors heard testimony from 18 witnesses, listened to dozens of emails be read into evidence and endured what observers estimated was a record number of sidebars for 12 days at county court in Mineola starting Jan. 15. Deliberations were slated to begin Friday after Judge Mark Cohen provides the jury with its instructions.

“When you go hunting for the big fish, sometimes you get caught up in the hunt and you end up looking for something that’s not there,” said Bruce Barket, attorney for the defendant, William Flanagan, while discrediting the case sparked by a Press expose. “At the end of the day, the return of property is not criminal and that…is the fatal flaw with this prosecution.”

Bernadette Ford, an assistant district attorney trying the case, aimed to connect the dots back to Gary Parker, who testified he asked Flanagan and his co-defendant, former Deputy Cheif of Patrol John Hunter, for help returning stolen computers–effectively dropping charges against Parker’s son, Zachary, who burglarized $11,000 in electronics from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore four years ago.

“Discretion to not arrest because of a relationship, that is an abuse of discretion,” she told the courtroom packed with law enforcement officials on either side of the case. “It’s a violation of duty.” She added, “It’s not what you did, it’s who you know, or who your father knows.”

While both sides agreed that the elder Parker was not credible when testifying that school officials told him they planned to drop the charges against his son, prosecution and defense attorneys disputed whether his gifts to Flanagan were compensation for returning the property.

They also disputed if Lorraine Poppe, the school’s principal, was unclear when telling police she wanted an arrest. The only testimony more debated than Parker’s and Poppe’s was that of retired Det. Bruce Coffey, who testified against Flanagan to avoid prosecution himself.

Flanagan faces up to four years in prison, if convicted. Hunter and another co-defendant, retired Det. Sgt. Alan Sharpe, had their cases severed from Flanagan’s after all three pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and misconduct charges in March 2012. The younger Parker is serving prison time upstate after pleading guilty to the burglary last year.

The 14-year-old was riding in the car with her father and her 12-year-old sister when the teen dialed 911, police said. Responding officers spotted 37-year-old Ja Mail Lewis’ car stopped on the shoulder near Exit 39 on the LIE and investigated the call, police said.

The officers, police said, determined that he was intoxicated and placed him under arrest.

Lewis was charged under Leandra’s Law for aggravated driving while intoxicated. He was also charged with driving while ability impaired combined influence, driving while ability impaired by drugs and driving while intoxicated.

Jeffrey Reynolds, the executive director of Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (LICADD), credited the teen for taking initiative and calling police.

“Each and every day there are countless young people on Long Island who cower in the back seats of cars unsure about what to do when a parent or family member is driving under the influence,” he said in an email.

“Leandra’s Law was a great step in the right direction,” he added, “but we need to do a better job of educating young people about how to handle those situations and empower more of them to speak up for their safety.”

Lewis will be arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Thursday.