A rookie city Police Department officer moonlighting as a part-time Flushing paint store employee was charged last week with cashing two checks in September from a business sharing building space with the store and pocketing nearly $7,000, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Gerardo Laera, 24, a borough resident who was assigned to the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn, was released on his own recognizance last Friday after being arraigned on charges of third- and fourth-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. He resigned from the NYPD on Friday.
According to the charges, Laera worked part-time for Clearview Paint Supply on Francis Lewis Boulevard. Sharing office space in the basement and a common hallway was the real estate agency, Douglaston Development Corporation. On or about Sept. 30, the owner of Douglaston Development wrote a check to “cash” for $2,000. He placed the check inside his desk and then, having later discovered it missing, reported the unendorsed check as stolen to his bank. Video surveillance from the vestibule of a JP Morgan Chase Bank branch allegedly showed Laera using an ATM to deposit the $2,000 check into his checking account and making a cash withdrawal of $35.
Additionally, according to Brown, on Oct. 30, Laera cashed a check for $5,000 at Prince Check Cashing Corporation on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing. The check was drawn from a closed account of Douglaston Development, and made out to “cash.” Laera allegedly presented his NYPD shield and state driver’s license, which the manager of the check cashing business made a copy of before providing Laera with $4,900 in cash. When the check cashing manager later attempted to deposit the check, it was returned by his bank unpaid.
Due back in court in February, Laera faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
