What to Know
- An NYPD Detective assigned to the Crime Stoppers Unit and another man face federal charges of scheming to use stolen bank account numbers
- Michael Bonanno, 44, of Staten Island, and Domenic Aiello were arrested by FBI agents and NYPD officers early Tuesday
- Both men are charged with federal bank fraud, conspiracy and identity theft
An NYPD Detective assigned to the Crime Stoppers Unit and another man face federal charges of scheming to use stolen bank account numbers to make payments on the detective’s home mortgage and credit card accounts, prosecutors say.
Michael Bonanno, 44, of Staten Island, and Domenic Aiello were arrested by FBI agents and NYPD officers early Tuesday. Bonanno joined the NYPD in 2001 and Aiello is unemployed, the criminal complaint says.
Both men are charged with federal bank fraud, conspiracy and identity theft in connection with the scheme in which they allegedly sought to use unauthorized wire transfers from victims’ bank accounts to accounts controlled by Bonanno and by cashing fraudulent checks written from victims’ accounts into an account controlled by Bonanno, court papers say.
In all, from November 2016 to March 2017 the pair attempted approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent wire transfers and also deposited approximately $69,000 worth of forged checks, prosecutors say.
“Plain and simple, Michael Bonanno allegedly used other people’s money to pay off his debts while simultaneously serving as a police officer, charged with investigating criminal wrongdoing,” Assistant FBI Director William Sweeney said. “We don’t allow the general public to get away with these types of crimes, and we won’t allow members of the law enforcement community to get away with them either.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, “Bonanno betrayed the public that he swore to protect.”
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Bonanno and Aiello will appear in federal court in Manhattan Tuesday.
It's not clear if the men have attorneys who could comment on the charges.
