Top cops indicted for conspiracy, misconduct

Three top Nassau County Police Department commanding officers were indicted on March 1 for misconduct and conspiracy after they attempted to cover up a crime allegedly committed by the son of an influential South Shore accountant with deep ties to the department, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said last Thursday.

In May 2009, Zachary Parker, now 20, was a senior at Kennedy High School in Bellmore. According to the indictment, an unidentified Kennedy administrator accused Parker, of Merrick, of stealing more than $10,000 worth of electronic equipment from the school. The three commanding officers, either directly or indirectly, pressured the administrator to drop the charges against Parker, but she refused, Rice said.

In the end, Rice alleges, one of the officers, former Detective Sgt. Alan Sharpe, falsified police documents, writing that the administrator had agreed to withdraw her accusation. Former Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan and former Deputy Chief Inspector John Hunter were also named in the indictment. The three could face prison terms if convicted of the charges.

According to the district attorney, Parker was charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property by a grand jury –– and not the Police Department –– last September, and he was arraigned on the charges in October. He pleaded not guilty.

Elaborate coverup alleged

The district attorney’s office alleged in the indictment that the three police commanders conspired with one another to prevent the arrest of Parker, whose father, Gary, regularly hosted and paid for lunches and dinners for high-ranking members of law enforcement –– at a cost of more than $17,000, according to published reports. Gary Parker also is reported to have donated $110,000 to the Nassau County Police Department Foundation, which is raising funds for a new police academy.