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Officials Arrest 28 More in NYPD, FDNY 9/11 Disability Scam

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Thomas Hale, center, is accused of being one of the alleged ringleaders of the massive disability fraud scheme.
Thomas Hale, center, is accused of being one of the alleged ringleaders of the massive disability fraud scheme.
A second wave of arrests occurred on Tuesday, February 25, in the far-reaching probe into New York City police and firefighters who have been accused of a disability-pension scheme where they fraudulently claimed to have suffered from emotional trauma as a result of 9/11, city officials said.

According to the New York Post, 16 of the 28 individuals who are accused were “drawing pensions from the NYPD and one from the FDNY. One defendant was drawing a pension from both.”

Among the suspects are two sons of the alleged ringleaders of the massive Social Security disability scheme, the Post reported.

“These defendants are accused of gaming the system by lying about their lifestyle, including their ability to work, drive, handle money, shop, and socialize, in order to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement.

“Their lies were repetitive and extensive.”

Many of the suspects were seen literally limping and shuffling into the courtroom following their arrests. They pleaded not guilty on a variety of charges, including grand larceny, conspiracy and criminal facilitation.

The Post noted that while many of the pensioners did indeed have actual physical disabilities that legitimately entitled them to state disability compensation, the disabilities were limited and their ailments did not entitle them to Social Security disability income, which requires a complete inability to work, Vance said.

This second arrest sweep follows the jaw-dropping January arrest of 106 people in the $400 million taxpayer fraud. In that round of arrests, it was reported that the beneficiaries were compensated an estimated $21.5 million in Social Security disability payments, the New York Daily News reported. Those arrested were charged with grand larceny, among other charges.

Among those snagged in the Tuesday sweep pickup is the retired police officer Sam Esposito, the son of former cop Joseph Esposito, who is accused to be the alleged kingpin of the plot. He is even accused of recruiting and coaching retirees on how to successfully perpetuate the fraud, the Post reported.

And the New York Daily News reported that Esposito will be charged with fraudulently getting benefits, along with Douglas Hale, whose dad allegedly steered hundreds of fakers, a source said.

Another alleged orchestrator is lawyer Raymond Lavalle, 83; former detective’s union employee John Minerva, 61; ex-cop Joseph Esposito; and consultant Thomas Hale, 89, are charged with recruiting, steering and vouching for dozens of SSDI cheaters, according to the New York Daily News.

The alleged ringleaders are expected to be named in new court papers, but they will not appear again in court as part of the latest wave of arrests, sources told the New York Daily News.

Last month, District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. announced the indictment of dozens individuals who allegedly claimed bogus ailments to cash in on a monthly pay out.

Some falsely claimed they suffered as a result of work they did on and after Sept. 11, prosecutors said.

The DA said the fraud may be as large as $400 million and predicted that hundreds of additional arrests were possible.

Among those already arrested was 60-year-old ex-cop Louis Hurtado, who brazenly ran a martial arts club in Florida for years but cashed in on $470,395 through his allegedly fake affliction, and Glenn Lieberman, 48, a former narcotics cop, who became the poster boy of the racket when prosecutors unveiled a photo of him flashing two middle fingers while living it up on a jet ski.

To be eligible for SSDI, a person must be completely unable to work as a result of a disorder.

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