Former New York Police Department (NYPD) union boss Ed Mullins pleaded not guilt to wire fraud after surrendering to authorities Wednesday morning.
He was charged with “one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA, through the submission of fraudulent expense reports,” the Department of Justice said in a press release. Mullins was released from custody on $250,000 bail following the not guilty plea, according to The Associated Press.
Mullins resigned from his position as president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) after FBI raids in October related to the investigation and retired from the NYPD in November, The AP reported. The union is the fifth-large police union in the country and represents 13,000 members, according to its website. (RELATED: FBI Raids NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association Headquarters)
“The nature and scope of this criminal investigation has yet to be determined,” the SBA board said in an October letter to members, according to The AP. “We have no reason to believe that any other member of the SBA is involved or targeted in this matter.”
Former @sbanypd president Ed Mullins does not answer any questions after pleading not guilty to allegedly defrauding the union he lead for nearly 2 decades of $1 million. He was released on $250,000 bond. @NY1 pic.twitter.com/EfHekNZFn4
— Alyssa Paolicelli (@APaolicelli17) February 23, 2022
Mullins faced NYPD disciplinary proceedings for inflammatory tweets referring to city officials, as well as sharing police documents related to then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter getting arrested during George Floyd protests in 2020, according to the AP. Mullins was subsequently docked nearly $32,000 in vacation days for the outburst, NBC New York reported.
He took a heavy role in the anti-reform movements, working towards better pay for NYPD police officers and occasionally appeared on Fox News and Newsmax, according to the AP.
Mullins is considered a controversial figure, with incidents ranging from appearing on Fox News with a QAnon mug visible to calling the Michael Brown story a lie on Twitter and claiming “a nation of police have been under attack ever since,” according to NBC News.
He faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted of the wire fraud charge.