The people of this city appreciate the risks our cops and firefighters take to keep us safe. That’s why they retire with packages that are among the most generous in the nation. So it’s disturbing to learn that some seem to have answered that generosity by faking illnesses to scam the Social Security system for more.
Even more disturbing is how easy it all was, and how long it took for the scam to be detected.
Manhattan DA Cy Vance says that at least 80 retired cops and firefighters pulled off a “massive fraud” that goes back more than two decades. The four principal defendants — including a former FBI agent — are accused of helping these cops and firefighters “lie about their psychiatric conditions” to gain “hundreds of millions in benefits” to which they were not entitled.
It gets worse: Many of the accused attributed their illnesses to 9/11.
Transcripts released by Vance show cops and firefighters being coached on how to act, how to avoid eye contact with the examining doctor, how to present a convincing case of depression or PTSD, etc. They were only caught when investigators discovered the “disabled” victims chronicling their active lifestyles on social media.
Those found guilty deserve whatever the law can throw at them. But as guilt and innocence is sorted out, the taxpayers deserve to have someone take an equally hard look at disability rules and presumptions that invite such abuse.