Robert Smith allegedly sent a text following his retirement in 2020 recounting how he would point his gun out his car window at people he described using a version of the N-word.
NYPD officers charged in bribe kickback scheme
Updated May 11, 2021;
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A retired NYPD officer and two current cops in the department were charged in federal court Tuesday with running a kickback scheme that netted the trio cash payments while also selling personal information of crash victims to injury lawyers and physical therapists.
Robert Smith, 44, the retired officer from Long Island, also faces charges stemming from a scheme in which he allegedly trafficked heroin for an unnamed drug organization.
In 2016, Smith and Officer Robert Hassett, 36, allegedly directed vehicles damaged in crashes to an unnamed licensed tow trucking and automobile repair business, court records indicate, instead of using the department’s tow truck program that randomizes licensed companies to pick up and remove vehicles from a scene.
UpdatedTue, May 11, 2021 at 2:22 pm ET
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Heather Busch, 34, of Massapequa; Robert Hassett, 36, of Farmingville; and Robert Smith, 44, of Plainview, were arrested. (Shutterstock)
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.