A joint FBI and NYPD investigation snared some current and retired cops — two from Long Island — for allegedly running a scheme in which auto accident wrecks were improperly steered to a towing company in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes, officials said Friday.
Arrested Friday morning on federal bribery and other charges were NYPD officers James Davneiro, 42, of Bayside and Giancarlo Osma, 39, of Deer Park, both of whom had been working at the 107th Precinct in Queens. Also charged was Michael Perri, 32, of East Islip, who retired as an NYPD officer in 2020 and had also worked at the 107th Precinct, officials noted.
All three defendants were slated to be arraigned on an indictment in Brooklyn federal court late Friday on charges of conspiracy and interstate bribery.
According to a statement released by Jacqueline Kasulis, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the tow truck scheme allegedly got underway in May 2020 when Davneiro and Osma, after responding to automobile accidents, would steer the damaged vehicles to a licensed tow trucking and auto repair shop operated by Perri. The two cops allegedly received a few thousand dollars in bribes, the indictment charged. The steering of business to Perri was allegedly done in violation of a special NYPD program which required the department to select appropriate towing companies to respond to accidents, Kasulis said.
NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement that the arrests were the latest in an ongoing investigation involving the department’s internal affairs bureau. A department spokesman said both Davneiro and Osma were suspended without pay following their arrests.
