The current boss of the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct accepted diamonds and cash from one of the businessmen at the center of a federal investigation.
Deputy NYPD Inspector James Grant was at his Staten Island home when he was handed hundreds of dollars by Jeremy Reichberg, a prominent figure in Borough Park, around Christmas, sources said.
Grant soon became aware that the feds had opened a probe into the NYPD, and he told close friends, “I’m f–ked. I can’t go to jail,”.
Investigators also discovered that Grant on multiple occasions had personally escorted Reichberg from the airport after overseas trips to pick up diamonds.
“[Grant] said he would meet him at the airport and get him back to where he had to go,” the source said.
“And as a form of payment, he’d give him one or two really nice cut diamonds to give to his wife.”
Grant has known Reichberg for about eight years, including Grant’ s time as head of Sunset Park’s 72nd Precinct from 2011 to 2014, sources said.
The police boss is still well known in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish communities having doled out hundreds of Captains Endowment Association cards that bear his name and read, “Please extend all courtesy to the holder of this card.”
At least one person who received one of the cards doesn’t even live in the five boroughs, another source added.
Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz, an Upper West Side real-estate investor, are both at the center of a federal probe into whether high-ranking members of the NYPD took lavish gifts in exchange for favors.
According to sources, NYPD cops received presents like Super Bowl tickets and vacations to China and Brazil, while giving out favors such as police escorts for business deliveries and extra security to manage crowds at Hasidic weddings.
Up to 20 members of the NYPD including Grant and two other deputy inspectors — are being grilled about their knowledge of these dealings, sources said.
The NYPD probe began after a separate investigation into a business deal gone awry involving Reichberg and Rechnitz revealed that they’d spent an unusual amount of time on the phone talking to cops.
Both men often bragged about their relationships with cops and Mayor de Blasio, for whom Rechnitz has been a major donor, sources said.
Reichberg has been suspended from his role as a volunteer chaplain with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, according to a report.
As one of four chaplains since June 2013, he offered support to cops and took part in police events, including police academy graduations and memorials for fallen officers.
Grant’s lawyer, John Meringolo, said Grant “denies any wrongdoing. He’s been an exceptional police officer for his entire career.”
