A crooked cop from Staten Island surrendered to authorities this morning after it was discovered he had justified working cushy overtime by writing 36 phantom tickets – some of which were issued to deceased drivers, The Post has learned.
Officer Paul Pizzuto, 40, ran the scam from March 11 to June 8, 2010, law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation revealed.
“He did it so he could get credit for work he didn’t do,” said one source.
Internal Affairs investigators ran an audit of Pizzuto’s record-keeping after he came under scrutiny for filing excessive amounts of overtime, the sources added.
Pizzuto, a 17-year veteran who spent the last six years assigned to the North Shore’s 120th Precinct in St. George, would allegedly run random checks on license plates to drum up names to fill out summonses, the sources continued.
But, the scheme fell apart when it was uncovered that he had allegedly only submitted paperwork at the precinct level – never sending the appropriate copies to the state DMV or city Department of Finance.
Another glaring discrepancy – some of the summonses Pizzuto handed in were being issued to people who had passed away, sources added.
Pizzuto was arraigned this morning during a brief appearance in Staten Island Criminal Court, where he was charged with 36 counts each of tampering with public records, offering a false instrument for filing, both felonies, falsifying business records and official misconduct, both misdemeanors. He was released without bond.
This is the second ticket scandal to rock a Staten Island stationhouse this year.
In February, Officers Stephen Gerwer, 39, and Vincent Adinolfi, 40, both assigned to the Mid-Island’s 122nd Precinct, allegedly faked 47 summonses while working from May 5 to May 20, 2010.
Brass got suspicious of a scam when the officers never appeared at court sessions where the summonses would have been adjudicated. Turns out the officers had allegedly tossed the portion of the ticket that would’ve been sent to the motorist and the DMV.
The cases against Gerwer and Adinolfi are ongoing.