By Matt McNulty
Officer Philip LeRoy was the
"Cop of the Year" in the 114th Precinct two years ago. Photo:
Facebook
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A Queens police officer who
once won his precinct’s “Cop of the Year’’ award has been busted on
cocaine-trafficking charges, sources said Tuesday.
Officer Philip LeRoy, who works
in the 114th Precinct, was nabbed just before midnight Monday in Sunrise City,
Fla., with two other men while allegedly buying 10 kilos of cocaine, sources
told The Post.
LeRoy — the son of a retired
detective — allegedly drove from New York with the intent to buy drugs in the
Sunshine State and had his off-duty weapon on him at the time.
“Sunrise PD does this thing
called forfeiture, which are like reverse drug-deal stings, where cops pose as
dealers selling very cheap cocaine. They’re known for these kind of big busts,”
a police source said.
“You got to be pretty stupid to
do this deal in Sunrise.”
LeRoy, 28, was charged with
felony weapons possession, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic
cocaine, according to court records. His bail was set at $250,000.
The NYPD suspended the cop
early Tuesday, authorities said.
He is in jail awaiting formal
charges to be brought by state prosecutors, which could take up to 21 days,
said an official at the Broward County Clerk’s Office.
Two years ago, LeRoy was picked
from more than 100 officers in his precinct to win its “Cop of the Year” award,
according to a report at the time.
“As a member of the anti-crime
unit, P.O. Leroy has made more than two dozen arrests so far this year for
things like robbery and gun possession,” said then-Police Commissioner Ray
Kelly in praising the cop.
‘You got to be pretty stupid to
do this deal in Sunrise, [Florida].’
- Police source
LeRoy, who lives in Queens,
racked up 188 arrests between January 2009 — when he joined the NYPD — and June
2012.
On Facebook, the disgraced cop
has posed for photos with a flashy black Infiniti and some featuring his
chiseled abs while he’s surrounded by voluptuous women.
In one picture from 2012, he
stands next to a wall emblazoned with the NYPD shield and the words “The
Greatest Detectives.”
His family didn’t return
messages seeking comment.
A woman who answered the door
at his Queens Village address said the family didn’t live there.
LeRoy’s alleged accomplices,
Richard Quintanilla and Brian Espinal, are accused of negotiating the deal,
sources said.
Quintanilla, 35, and Espinal, 27,
were each charged with trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
Additional reporting by Larry
Celona and Kirstan Conley
