“Three New York Police Department commanders, including a deputy chief, were arrested early Monday, along with a Brooklyn businessman, on federal corruption charges stemming from one of several continuing investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising,” nytimes.com reports. While the investigation highlights the core corruption of Big Apple “leaders” — who use armed police for protection while blocking citizens from exercising their right to bear arms — let’s get straight to the ballistic heart of the matter:
The court papers in the case detail lavish gifts the two senior police officials are accused of receiving in exchange for taking official action: a trip to on a private jet to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend in 2013, accompanied by a prostitute, expensive meals and free overseas and domestic trips, and the referral of business to a security company associated with one of the officials. The sergeant was charged in a separate but related scheme that involved aiding applicants for firearms licenses, the papers said.
Oh do tell! (We’ve been following this story since May.) How much does it cost to bribe your way to a concealed carry license in The City The Never Sleeps? At the risk of being “that guy,” what did Donald Trump pay to get his carry permit? Meanwhile, you didn’t really expect The New York Times to go into detail about the bribes-for-permits scandal did you? Especially as their publisher and his son have one of those golden tickets. So here’s newsday.com:
Former Sgt. David Villanueva of the NYPD Licensing Division was charged separately in a scheme that involved aiding applicants for firearms licenses, the court papers said.
Alex Lichtenstein, “an expediter” who charged fees to obtain gun licenses for clients, was accused of paying thousands of dollars in cash bribes and other benefits to Villanueva, those court papers said.
Police Officer Richard Ochetal, who also worked in the pistol licensing section, was charged in a third set of court papers with accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to expedite approvals, those court papers said.
The court papers made no connection between Ochetal and Villanueva.
“We will refrain from commenting until an official announcement has been made,” the NYPD said in an email statement.
And after that too, I imagine. So let me be clear about this: only those with money and connections have the ability to exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms in New York City. Everyone else is disarmed in the face of criminal, crazy or terroristic threats to life and limb.