Federal prosecutors say an NYPD officer helped a drug dealer by facilitating financial transactions and performed other favors like feeding him information about arrests of his associates and even providing him a police parking placard.
Authorities said Guy Curtis, the leader of a heroin ring based in Jamaica, Queens, regularly reached out to Officer Devon Daniels, a 30-year-old uniform patrol officer, by phone and text, asking for help like how to "get gun shot residue off your hands."
Curtis, who pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiracy to distribute, asked Daniels at one point "I need u to clap a felon he always carrying a gun," according to the federal complaint.
He also asked him several times to run license plate checks in the NYPD database, giving him numbers and seeking names and addresses in return.
Daniels is accused of illegally accessing federal databases to help Curtis, who was being monitored by federal authorities as a heroin supplier.
Daniels also did numerous other favors for Curtis, the criminal complaint said, including providing him a parking placard for his cars. He also allowed his bank account to be used to help transfer drug money, prosecutors said.
On one occasion, officials said, Curtis notified Daniels that one of his associates was being arrested, and Daniels went to the scene, identified himself as a police officer, and asked the arresting officers for information about the arrest. After leaving the scene, prosecutors said, Daniels "immediately reported that information" to Curtis.
In return for his help, Daniels asked Curtis for money, "any working revolver" and permission to borrow Curtis' vehicles, officials said.
Daniels was arraigned Tuesday and released on $150,000 bond. He was represented by his lawyer sister, who had no comment.
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