What to Know
- A former NYPD sergeant faces federal charges of wire fraud, making false claims, and identity theft in connection with her alleged attempt to receive compensation from several federal 9/11 benefits programs, prosecutors say.
- Sally Spinosa, 55, of Freehold, New Jersey was an NYPD officer from 1986 to 2019 and was a sergeant in the investigations unit of the NYPD’s Patrol Services Bureau of Staten Island.
- Spinosa faces more than 25 years in prison if convicted. She will appear in federal court in Manhattan via teleconference later Thursday.
A former NYPD sergeant faces federal charges of wire fraud, making false claims, and identity theft in connection with her alleged attempt to receive compensation from several federal 9/11 benefits programs, prosecutors say.
Sally Spinosa, 55, of Freehold, New Jersey was an NYPD officer from 1986 to 2019 and was a sergeant in the investigations unit of the NYPD’s Patrol Services Bureau of Staten Island.
Spinosa is charged with two counts of making false claims for monetary awards and medical benefits for allegedly overstating the amount of time she spent on recovery efforts at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, court papers say. She is also charged with submitting a fraudulent affidavit in connection with her application.
In 2010, Spinosa falsely stated to the World Trade Center Health Program that she had worked hundreds of hours at the landfill from September, 2001 to June, 2002. She also applied for a monetary award from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund in 2014 falsely claiming she worked at the landfill for 2 hours each day for 62 straight days, court papers say.
Prosecutors say Spinosa spent little to no time at the landfill and that during much of the time she claimed to be working she was pregnant and was doing limited work or was on parental leave.
Spinosa was granted benefits in 2017 by the World Trade Center Health Program and was paid by the program for medical visits and prescription drugs, court papers say.
News
“There is no place in the NYPD for for criminal behavior,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
The investigation was conducted by the US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the NYPD.
Spinosa faces more than 25 years in prison if convicted. She will appear in federal court in Manhattan via teleconference later Thursday.
Defense attorney information was not immediately available.
