A crooked NYPD cop assigned to an anti-terror unit tried to bring 3 kilograms of heroin into the city as part of a “shocking crime spree” involving credit card fraud and counterfeit cash, authorities charged Thursday.
Reynaldo Lopez, 26, was arrested after agreeing to deliver what he believed was a hefty quantity of heroin to a drug dealer in the Bronx, authorities said. He’d been duped by an undercover police officer who handed off “three keys” in a black bag during a meetup in a New Jersey parking lot, according to a criminal complaint.
Lopez, who is assigned to the NYPD Transit Bureau’s anti-terror unit, was allegedly carrying his personal Glock handgun during the Wednesday drug deal.
“Reynaldo Lopez, a police officer sworn to serve and protect his community, instead allegedly engaged in a shocking crime spree,” said acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim.
Lopez, of Brooklyn, showed up on authorities’ radar through a joint NYPD-FBI investigation of a counterfeit credit card ring that began this year, court papers say. He allegedly received stolen credit card information through an unidentified co-conspirator’s workplace, according to a complaint that did not identify the person.
Lopez also took stolen identities from an undercover officer who said he got the information through a car dealership where he worked, prosecutors said.
The alleged bad cop used bogus credit cards to spend $13,000 at luxury retail stores, the complaint said, adding that since May he allegedly splurged on movie tickets, gift cards, electronics and restaurants around New York and New Jersey.
On Nov. 10, Lopez showed off a fake $100 bill to an undercover in a “stack” of money that he said included other counterfeit currency, according to the complaint.
And during the staged drug deal preceding his arrest, Lopez allegedly said he’d delivered narcotics before and knew the routine. He thought he would be paid $2,000 for the service.
“With me it’s guaranteed. They know for sure. They just send me out, do your thing, get a address, meet the person, do your thing, and I’m gone,” he said, according to the complaint.
The most serious charge against Lopez, attempted possession of narcotics over 1 kilogram, carries a maximum life sentence. He was also charged with creating bogus credit cards using stolen identities and possession of counterfeit currency.
Lopez appeared before Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman on Wednesday and was released on $200,000 bond.
His mother, Elvira Lopez, 50, told the Daily News her son grew up wanting to be a cop and would never break the law. He is a father of two, with a third child on the way, she said.
“I don’t agree (with the charges),” she said in tears. “I’m a mother. This hurts me a lot. I do know that there is a God. God will always be present when it comes to what’s just. My son is innocent.”
Lopez joined the force in 2015. His most recent salary, including overtime, was $59,253.31, according to records.
“The NYPD works diligently day in and day out to protect the public from those who engage in these types of crimes,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said. “As evidenced by the charges today, nobody is exempt from that practice.”