The ex-head of NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union.
61-year-old Ed Mullins spoke to the court yesterday before his sentencing to beg the court for mercy by admitting guilt and remorse, telling them that he “must make this right,” that he “makes no excuses” and “made an incredibly bad decision.” He tried to explain the downfall of his life and family, saying that greed ultimately destroyed himself and his family.
As part of a plea deal, this January Mullins pleaded guilty to wire fraud and confessed to embezzling $600,000 in member dues by creating “false and inflated” expense reports from 2017 to 2021. Prosecutor Assistant US Attorney Alexandra Rothman was looking for a sentence of 41 months due to Mullins “disrespect[ing] the uniform” that he has worn for almost 4 decades.
While Mullins claims that he has “broken [his] contract with god,” Rothman continued to hammer home the idea that “this was not one mistake, this was not an aberration, [Mullins] did it again and again.” Prosecutors accused Mullins of using the money stolen from the union on material things, such as expensive meals, clothing, jewelry and home appliances, and also using it to pay a relative’s college tuition. Rothman had the smoking gun of the nearly 200 falsified expense reports filed by Mullins for the union.
Mullins’ attorney, Thomas Kenniff continued to play into Mullins’ level of remorse, hoping to lessen the prison sentence and even be spared with a sentence of home confinement instead. Mullins allegedly lost his life savings due to the $600,000 restitution owed to the SBA coupled with a $600,000 fine.
Judge John Koeltl ultimately sentenced Mullins to 24 months in prison and 3 years of post- release supervision. Kenniff told the press: “I’m very pleased that the court listened to our arguments and gave a sentence substantially below the extreme boundary that [the government] was asking for.” Mullins is unable to appeal the sentence as part of his plea deal, as it is under 41 months. Ed Mullins must surrender himself and go to prison by November 10th of this year.