Monday, June 06, 2016
Brooklyn security patrol, organized by man indicted in NYPD gun permit scandal, delayed in notifying cops of boy’s 2011 kidnapping
In the hours after 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky disappeared in Borough Park, Brooklyn, a key figure in the heavily Jewish neighborhood's security patrol coordinated the effort to find him.
Shaya Lichtenstein, 44, wrangled some 2,000 civilian volunteers as a member of the Borough Park Shomrim in a desperate attempt to locate Leiby, who was kidnapped as he walked home from a day camp on July 11, 2011.
He was found dismembered two days later, and Levi Aron was charged with his murder.
After Leiby's family reported him missing, the Shomrim did not notify the NYPD for three hours. Despite the tensions stemming from that delay, the long-cozy relationship between members of the Orthodox community, including the Shomrim, and the NYPD remained intact.
Lichtenstein was indicted in April on allegations that he bribed police officers to obtain gun permits for clients who paid as much as $18,000 for his services. He was able to get permits within a few weeks, when it usually takes more than a year.
In some instances, Lichtenstein paid off the cops in the very offices of the gun licensing division with thousands of dollars hidden in copies of the newspaper, a source familiar with the case said.
"That's partly how it was done, right in their faces," the source said.
The NYPD declined to comment.
Lichtenstein's ties with ranking police officials extended well beyond his close relationship with cops in the gun licensing unit, sources said. He parlayed that access into the ability to do favors for members of the Jewish community.
"He was always around," said a former Brooklyn South precinct commander. "He was very visible. He was actively involved in keeping in touch with all the executives."
A lot of that cachet came from his involvement with Shomrim, which has secured $1.108 million in grants from the city since 2007, including $136,624 in 2011 for special vehicles. The city froze those grants in April after Lichtenstein's arrest.
"(Lichtenstein) controlled the 66th Precinct fully," said a source in the Jewish community. "He was far more powerful than the media is reporting."
A number of the police commanders caught up in the wide-ranging NYPD and FBI probe into whether police exchanged favors for gifts came through the precinct. Many of those went on to rise in the NYPD.
Among those are Detective Michael Milici; Deputy Inspector James Grant, commander of the Upper East Side's 19th Precinct; Deputy Chief John Sprague, commander of the Force Investigation Division, and Inspector Peter DeBlasio, in Brooklyn Borough Command.
Three of them have since been moved to desk duty, stripped of their guns and shields. Milici has been fired.
Lichtenstein is seen standing with Sprague in an undated photograph in a group that includes now-Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan in front of a Shomrim banner.
"For the most part, everybody wants to be friends with law enforcement," the former Brooklyn South precinct commander said. "(The Orthodox) understand that a lot of times it's better to be able to call somebody than to call 911. . . . I think they see it almost as an insurance policy."
Joseph Esposito, who rose to chief of department, was a 66th Precinct commander who knew Lichtenstein.
"Yes, I was close with him," Lichtenstein told the Daily News, referring to Esposito, who retired from the NYPD and is now the de Blasio administration's $214,413-a-year director of the Office of Emergency Management.
Sources said Lichtenstein even had dinner at Esposito's house on the edge of Borough Park.
When asked whether that was true, Lichtenstein said, "Please, you are going into so many details. Please speak with my lawyer."
Asked whether he had a close relationship with Lichtenstein, Esposito, through a spokeswoman, said, "That's not true."
"My relationship with Shaya Lichtenstein is minimal at best, and it's been through local community events, where there have been many, many people there, not through a personal one-on-one sort of thing," Esposito said through the spokeswoman.
He denied that Lichtenstein ever had dinner at his home.
Esposito said he has not been contacted by investigators to date.
Lichtenstein told The News that he tried to help people in the community, but he declined to give any details.
"I have so many good things that I can tell you, but the media, it's not going to tell things in a good way," he said.
His lawyer Richard Finkel declined to comment. "It's not appropriate to make any comment at this time," he said.
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