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NYPD Detective Caught Up in Corruption Scandal Is Suspended, Officials Say

By Murray Weiss | April 26, 2016 10:17am
 Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton discuss the 2015 crime numbers during a press conference at police headquarters Monday, Jan. 4, 2015.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton discuss the 2015 crime numbers during a press conference at police headquarters Monday, Jan. 4, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn detective ensnared in the ongoing NYPD corruption scandal has been suspended after he tried to retire while under the cloud of a federal investigation, officials said.

Detective Michael Milici, the community affairs liaison in Borough Park's 66th Precinct, refused to answer questions from the FBI weeks ago, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. Federal agents were seeking information about officers accepting gifts from two Brooklyn businessmen in exchange for favors.

At the time, Milici was placed on modified assignment and stripped of his badge and gun.

Milici filed for retirement on Monday, virtually 26 years to the day after he joined the NYPD, but Police Commissioner Bill Bratton immediately suspended him. Authorities now have 30 days to charge him, or he's free to leave the NYPD.

Because Milici has more than 20 years on the force he will still receive his pension — unless he is convicted of a felony.

“This is obviously a complicated situation that I prefer not to discuss in the media other than to say that Detective Milici, having an unblemished record for 25 years, simply invoked his constitutional right and he has not been officially accused of anything,” said Michael Palladino, the detectives union president.

Eight other officers — the majority are high-ranking officials — have been disciplined so far in the growing scandal, including a sergeant and an officer in the NYPD License Division who are suspected of taking money in exchange for helping applicants obtain gun permits.