Ex-cop Jason Arbeeny cries for judge, gets probation; Judge Gustin Reichbach could have given him 4 years

Ex-cop Jason Arbeeny cries for judge, gets probation; Judge Gustin Reichbach could have given him 4 years
Judge moved by cop's courtroom plea for mercy; officer planted drugs on innocents
By Oren Yaniv / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 2:59 PM
Updated: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 9:23 PM



Former NYPD police officer Jason Arbeeny is sentenced in Brooklyn Supreme Court.


He cried — and the judge cut him loose.

A disgraced NYPD detective convicted of planting drugs on an innocent couple was looking at jail time when he walked into court on Thursday.

He walked out with probation after blubbering that he was ashamed of himself and pleading for mercy.

"I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore," Jason Arbeeny told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach.

“Sir, I am begging you, please don't send me to jail."

In a bench trial, Reichbach found Arbeeny guilty of “flaking” — framing two people by planting crack in their car during a 2007 bust.

Arbeeny, who was on the force for 14 years, tearfully apologized to his victims.

“My oath went down the window, my pride went out the window,” he said.

Reichbach admitted the weepy mea culpa got to him.

"I came into court this morning determined that the nature of this crime requires some jail time," he said.

"I frankly didn't expect the defendant, at the 11th hour, to be making these claims."

He then sentenced him to five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service. He said each hour Arbeeny spends speaking to cops or police recruits about his misdeeds will count as two.

The ex-cop technically faced a maximum of four years in prison, though sources said he was never likely to get that much.

He was one of eight officers indicted in a Brooklyn South Narcotics scandal. His trial revealed the seamy side of narcotics policing, including cops getting sexual favors from junkies in exchange for drugs and making false arrests to meet quotas and rake in overtime.

Reichbach called Arbeeny's conduct "not only reprehensible abuse of trust and authority but the corruption of the entire criminal justice system."

But he was swayed by pleas from the defendant, his wife and lawyer, who talked about how he had lost his job, his pension and his health.

Arbeeny even mentioned that his young son is in therapy after threatening suicide.

Defense lawyer Michael Elbaz blamed the "enormous pressure" to meet arrest quotas.

The victims, Yvelisse DeLeon and Juan Figueroa, had asked Reichbach to send Arbeeny to prison and they seemed

ambivalent about the probation.

Asked if it was a just sentence, DeLeon said, "Not really."

Figueroa said Arbeeny's plea was “touching.”

“He lost everything,” he said.

Reichbach admitted the weepy mea culpa got to him.

Reichbach admitted the weepy mea culpa got to him.

Cheaps wrote:Get a new job... If all you gotta do is cry and bitch to get a lighter sentence.