Accused Cop Impersonator Terrorized Neighborhood For More Than A Decade

An ex-con who cops believe robbed a neighbor by pretending to be a police officer has apparently been wreaking havoc on Bensonhurst — and his family — since 2005.

Two suspects approached a 63-year-old man in front of a home on 74th Street and 20th Avenue on May 8 at 7:55pm, identified themselves as police officers and took his money, according to the NYPD. Five days later, Anthony Buzzetta, 46, and his female companion Micca Nunzia, 38, were arrested and charged with robbery and criminal impersonation in relation to the crime, according to police.

Buzzetta was allegedly so unruly during the arrest, police sources say he had to be tased, warranting additional charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, according to court docs.

Though the impersonation charges were dropped, prosecutors were able to slap Buzzetta with assault, trespassing and harassment related to another May 5 complaint, in which Buzzetta is accused of entering a hotel room and brutally beating an in-law of his at the Harbor Motor Inn (1730 Shore Parkway), Brooklyn District Attorney records reveal.

“He’s a real problem for the community. I have been working closely with parole and the District Attorney’s Office to keep him off our streets,” said 62nd Precinct Commanding Officer Captain Anthony Sanseverino.

The conman’s extensive rap sheet dates back to 2005, including several domestic complaints. He was sentenced to three to six years in March 2007 for a robbery in 2006 — which covered a separate robbery indictment from 2005 — and got 60 days in jail for menacing in 2007, according to court records.

In one robbery complaint, Buzzetta allegedly stole three rings from his aging father, according to a 2006 New York Post article:

A New Utrecht man was arrested for stealing from his father and robbing a deliveryman in two incidents, authorities said yesterday.

The first occurred at 10 a.m. on Sept. 5, when Anthony Buzzetta, 29, allegedly stole three rings owned by his 53-year-old father in the dad’s home on 71st Street near 19th Avenue, sources said.

The next morning, his father noticed the rings, worth about $1,000, were missing and he reported the theft to police.

Buzzetta struck again at 5 p.m. Saturday, when he pretended to have a gun under his shirt and demanded cash from a 26-year-old deliveryman on 20th Avenue near Bay Ridge Avenue, sources said.

The deliveryman forked over $700 while Buzzetta allegedly threatened to kill him if he told police.

Two days later, the deliveryman spotted Buzzetta on the street and called cops, who arrested the suspect.

Buzzetta also has a pending endangering the welfare of a child case stemming an April incident when he allegedly went to female relative’s home and threatened to kill her, her parents, and her two children if she did not allow him in the house, according to court papers. Her 9-year-old daughter was home at the time.

But despite Buzzetta’s numerous run-ins with the law, the repeat offender never stayed behind bars very long. Most recently, Buzzetta was sentenced on July 31, 2015 for two indictments: two to four years for grand larceny and three to six years for robbery, all to run concurrently, according to court papers, but the New York State Department Of Corrections website indicates that he was released before his parole eligibility, which would have been February 2018.

Incidentally, a second set of cop impersonators were on the prowl in Bensonhurst last week. Here are the details, as reported in our weekly crime blotter:

A fraudster dressed in a full NYPD uniform targeted two homes, one on Bay Ridge Parkway and another on Ovington Avenue, accompanied by phony phone calls on May 15 and 16. According to police, the fake cop went to residents doors and demand $8,000. The imposter then said if the money was not together in 45 minutes to an hour, the randomly targeted residents would be arrested. Both victims told cops they received calls from a 347 number that instructed them to comply with the officer. The man has been described as wearing dark sunglasses and having a dimple on his left cheek.

That same week, the 62nd Precinct’s Impersonation Unit arrested a 53-year-old woman whose recently diseased husband had been collecting NYPD IDs as well as a stockpile of weapons. Police sources say that they do not believe these three incidents are related.