Photo Courtesy of Google
Smith, Busch, and Hassett were City Police officers assigned to the 105th Precinct.
By Forum Staff
A nine-count indictment was unsealed Monday in Brooklyn federal court charging Heather Busch, Robert Hassett, and Robert Smith with five counts of using interstate facilities to commit bribery and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act. Smith is also charged with attempting to transport at least one kilogram of heroin and possessing a firearm during the commission of that crime, according to federal prosecutors.
During the relevant period, Smith, Busch, and Hassett were City Police officers assigned to the 105th Precinct in Southeast Queens. Smith retired from the NYPD in March 2020.
Beginning in September 2016, NYPD Officers Smith and Hassett responded to automobile accidents by allegedly directing the damaged vehicles to a licensed tow trucking and automobile repair business (the “Business”) operated by an individual (the “Individual”), instead of using the NYPD’s Directed Accident Response Program (“DARP”), which requires NYPD officers to identify an appropriate licensed tow trucking business to respond to the scene of the automobile accident and remove the damaged vehicles from the scene. To ensure that no particular business receives favored treatment, NYPD officers are required to utilize a computer system that randomly selects a licensed tow trucking business. Smith and Hassett allegedly bypassed DARP and directed damaged vehicles directly to the Business in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash bribe payments. Smith and Hassett continued to participate in the scheme until at least June 2017, when they temporarily suspended their participation.
In November 2019, Smith resumed his participation in the scheme and continued to steer vehicles damaged in automobile accidents to the Business in exchange for cash. Beginning in January 2020, Smith discussed his plan to recruit Busch to participate in the scheme in advance of his retirement from the NYPD. In March 2020, Busch, at Smith’s invitation, met with Smith and the Individual and Busch agreed to participate in the scheme. Thereafter, Busch began steering vehicles damaged in automobile accidents to the Business in exchange for cash bribe payments, in lieu of utilizing DARP as required.
Beginning in January 2020, Smith and Hassett obtained the names and identifying information of recent automobile accident victims from NYPD databases and provided that information to the Individual in exchange for cash. Smith and Hassett understood that the Individual would sell that information to physical therapy businesses and personal injury attorneys so that they could seek to solicit the automobile accident victims as customers.
On numerous occasions, Hassett accessed NYPD databases in violation of NYPD regulations for the purpose of obtaining the names and identifying information of victims of recent automobile accidents. Hassett then arranged for that information to be delivered to the Individual, sometimes through Smith. Upon receipt of that information, the Individual made payments in cash to Smith who, in turn, redistributed a portion of those payments to Hassett. In total, between January 2020 and March 2020, Smith and Hassett sold the names and identifying information of more than 100 victims to the Individual, in exchange for more than $7,000 in cash.
Beginning in January 2020, Smith allegedly also sought opportunities from the Individual to transport heroin, in exchange for payment, upon his retirement from the NYPD.
