NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Two former NYPD officers were convicted of larceny and misconduct after they took the bait in a sting operation and stole cash from the car of an undercover cop posing as a drunk driver, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced Thursday.
Joseph Stokes, 42, and Jose Aracena, 37, both stole money during an integrity test on Oct. 29 2019.
"New Yorkers must be able to trust that law enforcement officials are held to the same standards of justice as everyone else," said Bragg. "These two officers, believing nobody was watching, attempted to use their positions of power to get away with blatant theft. These two jury convictions make clear that if you serve the public and break the law, my Office can and will pursue a full measure of justice and hold you accountable."
The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau set up the sting on the two crooked cops. An undercover officer posed as an intoxicated river, who they arrested and took to the 7th Precinct building.
Each officer independently searched the faux-perp's car.
There, Stokes found several containers disguised as drinks that contained cash. He hid two of the stash cans containing $4,800 under his own car in the parking lot.
When the undercover told Stokes about the money, he said he had thrown the cans in a passing garbage truck.
Hidden cameras in the car caught Aracena stealing $220 from the glove compartment and center console of the car when he searched for registration paperwork.
Stokes was convicted of grand larceny and Aracena was convicted of petit larceny. Both were convicted of official misconduct.
Stokes sued the NYPD for the sting and claimed he was targeted for revenge after pulling over a driver who was connected to top NYPD brass, the New York Post reported.
He could serve a maximum of eight years in prison, while Aracena faces up to two years.
They are scheduled to be sentenced on April 13 and May 4 respectively.
