Fmr. Nassau County Police Official Gets Jail Time For Misconduct Conviction
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A former suburban New York police official has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and three months of community service following his conviction on misconduct charges.
William Flanagan is a former Nassau County deputy police commissioner.
Prosecutors argued that Flanagan and two other police officials pulled strings to drop an investigation into the theft of about $10,000 in electronics from a high school. The suspected thief was the son of a businessman who had wined and dined police brass and donated to a police charity.
Fmr. Nassau County Police Official Gets Jail Time For Misconduct Conviction
A jury convicted Flanagan of official misconduct, a misdemeanor, in February. He and his attorney said they will appeal the conviction.
Among those at Monday's sentencing was U.S. Rep. Peter King, who's a Flanagan supporter.
"Any jail sentence was inappropriate. It was wrong. But again, that's the system. I'm confident that Bill Flanagan is going to prevail on appeal and that he will not go to jail," said King.
Flanagan had faced up to a year in jail for his conviction. His defense team had asked for no jail time calling the former deputy commissioner a man of integrity who did nothing wrong.
The judge pointed out that Flanagan continues to deny guilt or show remorse.
"He's shown no remorse because he's done nothing wrong. He's admitted no guilt because he is not guilty," defense attorney Bruce Barket responded outside court.
He said he's confident that, ultimately, the case against his client will be dismissed.
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