MANHATTAN — An NYPD detective will either resign or be terminated from the force after he was caught forging signatures of city employees on an application for a program that scored him a hefty loan — though he dodged any further penalties with a plea deal, according to the district attorney's office.
Van Scott, 48, was arrested Wednesday morning in the 5th Precinct after it was discovered he'd obtained a $22,000 loan through the city's Deferred Compensation Program by forging signatures of several staffers, court documents show.
The program allows eligible employees to take cash out of their pre-tax contributions to retirement plans. Scott would not have been eligible for the loan, according to the DA's office.
Scott forged the signature of Deborah Callender-Edwards, director of pension loans with the NYPD Pension Fund, on pension verification letters from 2015 and 2016.
He also forged the signatures of Thomas Miraglia, staff analyst trainee with the pension fund on 2015 and 2016 applications for loans, court records show. Shauna Marcus, senior manager at the city deferred compensation program verified his 2015 application resulted in the $22,000 loan, records show.
Scott was charged with one count of grand larceny, four counts of forgery and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing — all felonies. He ultimately pleaded guilty to petit larceny, a misdemeanor, and agreed to resign from the NYPD if he is not fired.
The NYPD did not respond to an inquiry on whether the department would fire Scott.
Scott's attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
