66th Precinct Detective Questioned In Corruption Probe Trying To Retire

[This story was updated on 4/26/16 at 7pm.]

A longtime community affairs detective at the 66th Precinct, who was named in a federal corruption investigation, is trying to retire, the New York Daily News reported today.

Detective Michael Milici of the 66th Precinct, who invoked the Fifth Amendment and would not answer questions at a federal grand jury hearing regarding “gifts” made by two businessmen to several NYPD officers, submitted paperwork to retire on Monday, the News reports.

But after submitting his request yesterday, Milici was suspended, sources told the Daily News. The 26-year veteran of the NYPD had been on “restricted detail” — stripped of his badge and gun — since his refusal to testify.

The NYPD has 30 days to challenge Milici’s request for his pension. He would only be in danger of losing it if he is convicted of a felony while still on active duty, the News reports.

According to CBS News/New York, Milici’s suspension is without pay. “His file was flagged by Internal Affairs because it is prohibited for anyone to retire as a way of dodging departmental charges.”

As of yet, Milici “has not been officially accused of anything,” Detectives’ Endowment Association President Michael Palladino told the Daily News in an email.

The two businessmen — Jona Rechnitz of Manhattan and Jeremy Reichberg of Borough Park — at the heart of the investigation have also not been charged, the News points out.

Are charges against Milici coming?

Among the allegations that have emerged in the ongoing corruption probe into the NYPD, the New York Post reported yesterday that “Milici and other police officials took at least one trip on a private plane with the men [Rechnitz and Reichberg] in 2014, and that at least some on board allegedly had sex with a hooker dressed as a flight attendant.”