Metro

NYPD detective wanted reward from bogus gun tip: prosecutors

​That’s one costly false move.

An NYPD detective made up a phony tip about a gun being turned in to police so he could ​pocket a $1,000 reward, Manhattan prosecutors ​charged Thursday.

John Malloy, 46, worked ​in the NYPD’s Operation Gun Stop program, which offers cash rewards for information about illegal firearms, when he submitted an anonymous fake tip about the gun in November 2012.

The cop, who has since been suspended,​ even forged the signature of another detective, a supervising sergeant and an inspector to get the paperwork approved for the paltry payout​, prosecutors alleged​.

“Detective Fernandez had taken a tip the night before. I couldn’t read his handwriting, so I recopied the form and signed his name and Sergeant Walsh’s. I know I shouldn’t have,” Malloy told District Attorney investigators during an April 15 interview.

The problem was,​ ​the same gun had already been recovered in Brooklyn and resulted in an arrest, authorities said.

And the other detective he ​mentioned never received a tip, law-enforcement sources said.

The signatures were discovered to be fakes and the case was reported to ​the ​Internal Affairs ​Bureau ​before he was ever able to collect the ​$1,000 award.

Malloy had worked for the gun buyback unit for eight years.

The glum-looking cop pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday to 13 counts of forgery, attempted petit larceny, offering a false instrument and official misconduct.

He claimed he’d filed the bogus paperwork because he was under a lot of strain, according to court papers.

“I was under a lot of pressure to complete the report for the chiefs,” he told investigators on ​April 15, admitting he committed the crime ​– ​but​ insisting he didn’t do it​ for ​the ​money. “I was having a health problem and under a lot of stress.”

​Malloy surrendered to District Attorney​ Cyrus Vance Jr.​’s ​o​ffice Thursday morning and a few hours later Justice Ronald Zweibel released him on his own recognizance.

He faces 2 1/3 to 7 years behind bars on the top count.

​”​This is a very serious crime,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Ryan Connors. “However the People acknowledge that the defendant has no criminal record and voluntarily surrendered. The People consent to his release.”

Defense Attorney Philip Karasyk declined to comment as he and his client left court.