Retired NYPD cops probed for 'faking' mental illness to get benefits

PHILIP MESSING New York Post 08/09/2010 17:38

Crazy like a fox! Up to 24 retired NYPD cops, some already getting tax-free disability pensions, are being investigated for allegedly feigning mental illness to add Social Security benefits to their juicy incomes -- even as they declared themselves sane enough to pack a pistol, The Post has learned.

The insane mixed messages have set off a corruption probe at 1 Police Plaza and prompted the feds to target the retirees, as well as their lawyers and psychiatrists, sources said.

The case began two years ago when Social Security investigators on an unrelated corruption case noticed that one lawyer represented an inordinate number of retired cops filing Social Security claims, a source said.

The cops -- many of whom were already collecting three-quarter, tax-free disability pensions for on-the-job orthopedic injuries -- stood to gain thousands more dollars a year in Social Security benefits if deemed to also have mental problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the source said.

The probers compared the list of "mentally ill" retirees with a roster of ex-cops who were issued gun permits, a process in which a person has to swear he isn't taking any drugs for mental problems.

The comparison yielded between 12 and 24 hits of names on both lists, a source said.

Retired cops often seek to keep weapons permits so they can pick up extra money working private security.