New York City Police Department Sergeant Sentenced to Six Months' Imprisonment for Making False Statements to Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents

Defendant Provided Vehicle Registration Information for Law Enforcement Surveillance Vehicles to Narcotics Trafficker

February 12, 2010 - (Brooklyn, NY) Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, Roosevelt Green, formerly a Sergeant with the New York City Police Department was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for making false statements to Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents during a narcotics investigation. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco and announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

On June 16, 2009, as jury selection was about to commence in his trial, Green pleaded guilty to lying to DEA agents on May 22, 2007. As Green’s guilty plea, indictment, and underlying complaint reveal, he used NYPD computers to obtain vehicle registration information for two DEA surveillance vehicles and provided that information to Frank Wilson, a long-time Wyandanch narcotics trafficker. 1 In a May 22, 2007 interview with DEA agents, Green falsely stated that he did not provide the vehicle registration information to Wilson.

In February 2007, the DEA, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD), and the United States Attorney’s Office commenced a court authorized wiretap investigation of Wilson’s narcotics trafficking organization, which had been distributing cocaine and “crack” cocaine in Suffolk County for more than a decade. Law enforcement officers intercepted a series of conversations between Green and Wilson, which revealed that Wilson asked Green to check license plates on two vehicles Wilson thought might have been used to follow him. The intercepted conversations further revealed that, while on duty in an NYPD patrol car on March 31, 2007, Green used NYPD computers to obtain vehicle registration information for two vehicles and provided that information to Wilson. Both those vehicles had been used to conduct surveillance of Wilson and his co-conspirators during the wiretap investigation. In a subsequent conversation, Green told Wilson that he wanted a warm-up suit and a pair of sneakers in exchange for the information.

On May 22, 2007, DEA agents and NYPD detectives executed a federal search warrant at Green’s Wyandanch residence. A number of items were seized, including sneakers and other articles of clothing Green admitted receiving from Wilson. At that time, Green told the DEA agents that he had had conversations with Wilson and that he was aware that Wilson was a drug dealer, but denied having obtained vehicle registration information for him.

As a condition of his plea agreement with the government, Green, a 12-year veteran, resigned from the NYPD immediately after his guilty plea on June 16, 2009 and agreed not to seek future employment with any federal, state or local law enforcement agency. “Law enforcement officers have the responsibility to serve the public and protect their communities. This defendant abused that responsibility and used his position to obtain sensitive information that he provided to a known drug dealer,” stated United States Attorney Campbell. “By doing so, he not only violated his duties as a police officer, but also endangered fellow law enforcement officers and the public through his actions.” Mr. Campbell thanked the DEA, SCPD, and SCSD for their efforts during this prosecution. Mr. Campbell also thanked the NYPD for its cooperation and assistance during the investigation.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Durham.

The Defendant:
ROOSEVELT GREEN
Age: 47

In May 2007, Wilson and 14 co-defendants were arrested for conspiring to distribute cocaine and “crack” cocaine and were subsequently indicted on narcotics and weapons charges. All 15 defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing in the Eastern District of New York.