An NYPD officer is facing criminal charges and cou𓆉ld lose his job because he lied about his income in order to avoid paying higher child support, officials said Tuesday.
Officer Michael Martinez was arraigned Tuesday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment that includes perjury, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and offering a false instrument for filing charges🎶.
Martinez remained silent during his brief court appearance as defense attorney John Tyman entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf. If ౠc𝔍onvicted, he’ll be fired from the NYPD and faces up to seven years prison.
The 40-year-old dad is accused of filing false payroll statements, and telling a family court judge in 2013 his schedule💦 had changed to cover the sudden shift in income.
He managed to withhold $15,332.14 in payments before hi🃏s child turned 21 in February 2017, accoꩵrding to officials.
The child support scam was caught during ๊an investigation into other, unrelated allegations against Martinez. It was not immediately clear what those♈ allegations are.
Brookly🍒n District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the charges “particularly disturbing because these offenses were allegedly committed by a police officer to deprive his child of needed financial support.”
Martinez 🥂declined comment as he left court. He’s due back Sept. 12.
The cop, who is currently on modified duty with the Housing Bureau in Manhattan, wasn’t the o๊nly cop in court for lying Tuesday.
Former NYPD officer Thomas Rice pleaded guilty in Queens to charges of official misconduct for falsifying documents. He was forc✨ed to retire from the force last month, officials said, and sentenced to conditional discharge.
Rice 🅠penned multiple fictitious police reports in 2013 in cases involvi♔ng vehicle breaks-ins where items were stolen.
Thꦍe disgraced cop “listed non-existent addresses as places he had interviewed witnesses and included the same names multiple times. The n💝ame Harry Sadhadeo was listed six times — twice as a male and four times as female,” according to the Queens DA’s office.