By Kirstan Conley and Rich
Calder
His rabid jealousy has landed a
former Bronx NYPD detective in jail.
An emotional Edwin Vargas was
sentenced in Manhattan federal court Monday to four months in prison for
shelling out more than $4,000 to hack into police department email accounts so
he could find out whether a fellow cop was sleeping with his baby mama.
Noting that the NYPD allowed
Vargas to retire and keep his benefits due to an exemplary two decades of
service, Judge Kevin Castel cut the ex-cop a big break. The judge didn’t hit
him with a $30,000 fine he faced and sentenced Vargas well below the
recommended guidelines of 10 to 16 months in prison under terms of his plea
deal.
“First, I’d like to apologize
to all the victims in this case, especially my son’s mother,” a choked-up
Vargas told the court. “I never meant to hurt anyone. I’d like to apologize to
my family and friends who, though they were disappointed by my actions, stood
by me.”
After holding back tears, he
then said, “I love you guys. To my son Tristan, I’d like to say ‘I am sorry.’”
A moved Castel said he believed
Vargas’ apology was “sincere.”
Vargas admitted that from April
2010 to May 2012, he paid a Los Angeles company specializing in email hacking
to supply him with personal log-in credentials to help spy on his ex-lover.
The data included information
on at least 20 of his NYPD colleagues, including his former girlfriend.
He admitted using the
information to access the account of at least one person. Vargas also dug up
personal information on two cops using the FBI’s National Crime Information
Center, and accessed the phone records of another victim, authorities said.
He pleaded guilty to computer
hacking and unauthorized access to a law-enforcement database and will be subject to a year of supervised
release when he gets out of prison.
The feds busted Vargas in May
2013 after finding a file on his work computer with contact information for his
victims, including email accounts and apparent passwords.
In some cases, Vargas
communicated with the hacking company by freeloading off his neighbor’s wireless
connections, authorities said.
One cop told The Post in May
2013 that Vargas’ creepy behavior had been an issue for years — and that he
even pursued his co-workers’ ex-wives and girlfriends.
Vargas was disciplined two
years ago for allegedly stalking his ex, sources said. He was penalized five
vacation days and was transferred from the 40th to the 44th Precinct, both in
The Bronx.
The woman, who was not
identified, complained at the time that she was being stalked, and said that
Vargas had sent her harassing texts and called her names, the sources said.
