Cop Avoids Jail

Cop Avoids Jail

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

A former New York City cop that admitted to operating an illegal poker club has avoided a jail sentence after agreeing to a plea deal late last week.

According to a report in the New York Post newspaper, Richard Palase was sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 200 hours of community service for his involvement in illegal Staten Island games that had raked in ‘thousands per night’.

Authorities in the nation’s largest city ran a sting operation in 2011 after being tipped off that a police detective was fraternising with organised crime figures at illegal games.

“I made a grave mistake,” said Palase in Brooklyn Federal Court.

“My greed and selfishness ruined my life and my family's.”

Prosecutors had been hoping for a custodial sentence but Judge Sandar Towned instead opted for leniency.

“I've considered his prior history as a police officer but I've also considered that he was held to a higher standard because he was a police officer when he committed this crime,” said Towned.



Tags: Richard Palase, New York City, Brooklyn Federal Court, Sandar Towned