A former Jersey City police officer ensnared in the federal investigation into no-show off-duty security details was sentenced to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to accepting $55,000 in bribes, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Anthony Iannicco, 49, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments back in June 2017. Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Iannicco was a police officer with the Jersey City Police Department from 1995 until 2016. From 2008 through 2016, his duties included serving as the “assistant pick coordinator†for Jersey City’s West District.
As the assistant pick coordinator, Iannicco assigned police officers to off-duty details.
Under Jersey City’s municipal code, off-duty police officers were not permitted to receive cash payments directly from off-duty employers.
Instead, the employers were supposed to pay Jersey City, which would then pay the off-duty police officers, minus certain fees, taxes and deductions, including an administrative fee payable to Jersey City per hour that the off-duty police officers worked.
Iannicco conspired with numerous employers to cut Jersey City out of the process of hiring and compensating off-duty police officers, authorities said.
Generally, Iannicco permitted these employers to operate at worksites without the presence of a police officer when such a presence was required, according to court documents
In exchange, Iannicco accepted cash payments directly from these employers in violation of Jersey City rules and regulations, officials said.
Altogether, from 2011 to 2016, Iannicco collected payments of approximately $55,000 directly from off-duty employers and a conspirator.
In addition to the prison term, Vazquez sentenced Iannicco to three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $55,000 and restitution of $219,196.
