By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-22 23:24:27 | Updated at 2026-06-23 00:41:07
1 hour ago
Long Island cops who have admitted to misconduct were allowed to stay on the job and rake six-figure salaries — ending their employment only after reaching full pension eligibility, a new report said.
Since 2011, at least seven settlement agreements between Suffolk County and accused crooked cops have been reached, costing taxpayers $7 million and allowing officers who admitted to wrongdoing stay employed just long enough to reach their 20 years of service, which is when they would receive their pension eligibility, according to Newsday.
Mike Martino, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, said the deals were cut under prior Exec Steve Bellone, who served the office from 2012 to 2023, and former police chief Rodney Harrison — who told the outlet that he never signed off on any such agreements despite his signature being on the paper.
“These incidents and agreements took place under the prior administration,” Martino said.
“This is just another thing that we’ve inherited,” he added.
When Suffolk County moves to fire a cop, an independent arbitrator steps in to have the final say, but rather than risk losing before an arbitrator — who could side entirely with the officer — Bellone’s administration opted for these settlements.
The sweetheart deals allowed officers who were accused of brazen wrongdoing — such as recent retiree Kevin Wustenhoff who allegedly took a Breathalyzer test for drunk off-duty colleague, David Mascarella.
Mascarella had just plowed into a family with his truck and fractured a two-year-old’s skull in 2020, and officer Ronald Reiter, who allegedly exposed the identity of an undercover cop and failed to “disclose knowledge of unlawful conduct” — to admit only to “general misconduct.”
Other officers who got similar deals included Christopher Weiner, who allegedly punched a man while holding handcuffs and leaving cuts on his face, and
Police Benevolent Association President Lou Civello defended the practice, and said an admission of general misconduct “does not mean the allegations are true,” but rather that “the officers admit to making some procedural mistake and settle on a penalty.”
“These are cases where the facts are in dispute and the officers claim their innocence — these settlements are concessions by the county — they don’t have the evidence to prove their case,” he said.
That admission allowed them and four other officers also accused of wrongdoing while on the job to stay on the force, and keep collecting salaries as high as $270,000 until they hit the 20-years needed to access their pension, giving them benefits for life, the outlet reported.
The penalty usually included the delayed departure that allowed the officers to remain on patrol and the payroll — costing tax payers over $7 million in salaries and overtime to these seven officers alone — as they await the agreed-upon date to be terminated, retire, or resign, the outlet detailed.
Most deals were given to officers who are within a few years of reaching their required 20 years of service, however, current officer Jose Estrella’s “penalty of termination” was set 14 years in advance, allowing him to remain on patrol until 2031, according to the outlet.
Estrella was accused of using police computers to search license plates “for reasons other than official police business” in 2015, just three years after he was hired, according to the report.
