Former NYC workers charged in disability scam

NEW YORK - One retired police officer who said he couldn't work taught martial arts, prosecutors said. Another who claimed he was incapable of social interactions manned a cannoli stand at a street festival, they said. A third who said his depression was so crippling that it kept him house-bound was photographed aboard a Sea-Doo watercraft.

All were wrongly receiving thousands in federal disability benefits, prosecutors said Tuesday in announcing a sweeping fraud case involving scores of retired officers, as well as former firefighters and jail guards. The retirees faked psychiatric problems, authorities said, and some falsely claimed their conditions arose after the 9/11 attacks.

"The brazenness is shocking," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

Four ringleaders coached the former workers on how to feign depression and other mental health problems that allowed them to get payouts as high as $500,000 over years, Vance said. The ringleaders made tens of thousands of dollars in secret kickbacks, Vance said.

The four - retired officer Joseph Esposito, 64; John Minerva, 61, a disability consultant with the detectives union; lawyer Raymond LaVallee, 83; and a benefits consultant Thomas Hale, 89 - sat stolidly as they pleaded not guilty Tuesday to high-level grand larceny charges. All were released on bail, ranging from $250,000 to $1 million.

Their lawyers said all four staunchly denied the accusations, and some noted that their clients had legitimate jobs helping people seek benefits. Minerva did "what he thought was being done in the correct fashion," said his attorney, Glenn Hardy. "I don't think he was steering people or telling people what to say when they applied for those benefits."