By Paula McMahon - Sun Sentinel
A disgraced former New York City police officer who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for providing armed security for a $200,000 cocaine deal in Sunrise had his punishment reduced on Tuesday.
A federal judge in Fort Lauderdale agreed to a request from prosecutors to cut three years off the prison term being served by Phillip Leroy, 30, formerly of Queens.
The award-winning former NYPD officer pleaded guilty in 2015 to being part of a federal drug-trafficking conspiracy. He admitted he brought his loaded off-duty gun with him when he and his friend went to pick up what they thought was 22 pounds of cocaine at a Sunrise warehouse.
It was actually an undercover law enforcement sting set up by Sunrise police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas that Leroy gave them information that helped their investigation. Another defendant provided information that led to the arrest of a man who is facing state drug charges in New York but Leroy gave details that helped investigators figure out how the drug ring operated, authorities said.
Leroy’s lawyer, Paul Petruzzi, had asked for the punishment to be cut in half, to five years.
But the judge sided with federal prosecutors, who recommended the prison term be reduced to seven years.
“He was a rising star in the NYPD,” Petruzzi told the judge. “He turned what was otherwise a very, very promising career in law enforcement into a badge of shame.”
He said Leroy did not set up the deal but he knew what he was getting involved with and went along with it for “entirely stupid reasons.” Leroy has been locked up since he was arrested Dec. 1 in Broward County.
The seven-year veteran officer was a two-time winner of his precinct’s “Cop of the Year” award in 2012 and 2014. He was planning to flash his police badge if law enforcement pulled them over during the drive from New York to South Florida, according to court records.
A 2013 Sun Sentinel investigation revealed that Sunrise police used confidential informants to lure drug dealers and buyers to the city, then seized their cash and vehicles. But Leroy had no contact with any informant and his defense said at the time that there was no evidence that he was entrapped.
“I’d like to pretty much apologize for my wrongdoing and for embarrassing my father, embarrassing the law enforcement community and the NYPD,” Leroy told the judge in court on Tuesday. “I’m terribly sorry for what I’ve done and I just want to move on.”
Leroy's father, Ernest Leroy, a veteran NYPD police officer, attended the court hearing on Tuesday and wiped away tears when he heard his son’s apology to him.
Leroy’s longtime friend, Brian Espinal, was sentenced to close to six years in federal prison for his role in the crime. A third man, Richard Quintanilla, from Ecuador, who helped set up the Sunrise drug deal, was sentenced to more than 4 1/2 years in prison for his role.
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