MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A one-time top aide to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has pleaded guilty to making dozens of prank calls, mostly while impersonating another top ranking officer in the department.
Retired sergeant Manuel "Manny" Lopez, 55, was supposed to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday but the case was moved up by more than a week — to Nov. 1 — when he pleaded guilty to one count of harassment in exchange for community service and $8,000 restitution to the NYPD that he paid by check.
Lopez was arrested in May and charged with four dozen counts of criminal impersonation and dozens of counts of aggravated harassment — all misdemeanors.
He made calls to various people including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, while pretending he was NYPD Chief Michael Shea, a supervisor in the police commissioner's office, between October 2010 and March 2011.
A criminal court judge ordered him to serve 50 hours of community service and pay restitution to the department for the overtime paid to investigate his case, prosecutors said Thursday.
Lopez's attorney, Seth Rosenberg, declined to comment on the plea or the terms of the deal when reached by phone Thursday. He would not say whether Lopez has received his community service assignment as of yet.
