Ex-Commanding Officer Of 72nd Precinct Named In Corruption Probe

Deputy Inspector James Grant, former commanding officer of Sunset Park’s 72nd Precinct, has been stripped of his badge and gun and transferred out of his current command in the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct after evidence surfaced of him “accepting cash and diamonds from a shady businessman,” according to a New York Post expose.

Grant is one of dozens of high-ranking NYPD officers who have been caught up in the latest corruption probe to hit the police department; this latest round also affected ex-commanding officer of Flatbush’s 70th Precinct, Brooklyn South Deputy Chief Eric Rodriguez, Deputy Housing Chief Michael Harrington, and Deputy Chief David Colon.

All four have been transferred to less visible posts pending further investigation.

According to the Post,

Grant was caught by the feds getting hundreds of dollars from Jeremy Reichberg, a prominent figure in Borough Park, around Christmas, sources have said.

Grant also allegedly accepted diamonds from the jeweler while driving him home from overseas trips to pick up the gems — and was told they were for his wife.

. . . The NYPD probe began after a separate investigation into a business deal gone awry involving Reichberg and Rechnitz ­revealed that they’d spent an ­unusual amount of time on the phone talking to cops.

Both men often bragged about their relationships with cops and Mayor Bill de Blasio, for whom Rechnitz has been a major ­donor, sources said.

Reichberg has been suspended from his role as a volunteer chaplain with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, according to the Journal News.

Grant is also accused of accepting money and office decor from the two men while in his post at Sunset Park’s 72nd Precinct, in exchange for regular use of his private parking spot and access to precinct roll call and other functions.

Grant was commanding officer of the 72nd Precinct from 2011 to 2014.