Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Three NYPD Officers, Including "Unabashedly Racist" Cop, Arrested In Bribery Scheme: Feds
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 11, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
LennoxWright/Shutterstock
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 11, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Three NYPD officers were arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges, including an "unabashedly racist" cop who bragged about menacing Black people and expressed interest in the Ku Klux Klan, according to prosecutors.
The indictment details a series of escalating criminal behavior by Robert Smith, a longtime officer in eastern Queens who left the department last March. Beginning in 2016, the filing states, Smith, 44, and his partner Robert Hassett, 36, used their police powers to steer vehicles damaged in crashes to a specific towing company, in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash bribes.
The scheme expanded in early 2020, prosecutors allege, with the officers collecting crash victims' information from the NYPD's accident database, giving it to an unnamed individual who sold it to physical therapists and injury attorneys.
Shortly before Smith retired, he recruited Officer Heather Busch, a current officer in the 105th precinct, to take over the towing scheme, prosecutors said. Busch, 34, is accused of accepting bribes for that work beginning last March, just weeks after she was praised by NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea for her efforts in the community.
As the corruption in the 105th continued, Smith was offering his services to a group of men he believed to be drug dealers, according to feds.
In one meeting with the undercover officers, Smith allegedly "bragged that he could carry a firearm and retired NYPD identification documents during his transportation of illegal narcotics." He was given a kilogram of what he believed to be heroin, which he dropped off at a Queens home, according to prosecutors.
Throughout the course of the investigation, prosecutors said, Smith also bragged about wielding power over Black individuals, while making glowing references to the KKK.
"Bro I point my gun out the window now at n---ers and watch their reaction and drive away. Hilarious," he allegedly wrote in one text message. In another message, shortly after his retirement, he allegedly boasted, "Now the real [S]mith will shine. I even shaved my head. Klan."
City records show that Smith was the subject of 14 misconduct complaints as an NYPD officer, including one complaint that was substantiated for using offensive language against a Black woman. He received formalized training as a result of that charge.
Prosecutors are seeking pre-trial detention for Smith, describing his alleged abuse of power and repeated threats to terrorize individuals as a "clear danger" to the community.They are also asking for bond on Busch and Hassett. Gothamist's attempt to reach an attorney for the defendants was unsuccessful.
They are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon.
Tagged
insurance scam
nypd
police misconduct
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .