BROOKLYN, N.Y.–The judge and the retired cop who have been arrested in connection with alleged wrongdoing at Municipal Credit Union here also had a fondness for “dabbling in a small-time offense that bedevils the city”—the abuse of parking perks.
As CUToday.info reported here, Justice Sylvia Ash, who at one point was chairman of Municipal Credit Union, has been charged with destroying evidence and misleading investigators who are looking into the alleged multi-million-dollar embezzlement at Municipal CU, while former New York City police officer and MCU Supervisory Committee member Joseph Guagliardo has been charged in a separate scheme for billing the credit union for hundreds of thousands of dollars for work that was never done and other schemes.
What Documents Show
Now, according to a review of court documents by the New York Daily News, buried amid the charges of phony invoices, sham security services and deleted emails are messages between Ash and Gagliardo about coveted Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association cards and a parking placard. Both the cards and placards help avoid tickets in New York City, where parking is at a premium, according to the Daily News.
“Placards for Guagliardo’s non-profit for retired cops, the 10-13 Association, have been spotted around the city by the @placardabuse Twitter account, which documents cars parked illegally without consequence,” the publication reported.
The Daily News quoted Danny Pearlstein, a spokesperson for the Riders Alliance, as saying, “Placards create a sense that some people are better than others because of their relationship to government and that’s simply not true. It creates a false distinction of people in society that some are worthier than others in our streets.”
‘Get Out of Jail Free Cards’
Investigators allege Ash was given the PBA cards, also known as “Get Out of Jail Free” cards because they help the holder avoid minor run-ins with the police, as a bribe to look the other way on abuses by former CEO Kam Wong, who has since been sentenced to prison for embezzlement.
According to the Daily News, Ash texted a photo of multiple PBA cards and a placard for Guagliardo’s association for retired cops, the complaint states.
“The judge is not a retired police officer. Such placards are not illegal, but in practice they allow the holder to avoid tickets and park in areas that are off-limits to average New Yorkers,” the report states.