An off-duty NYPD detective was busted Wednesday over accusations he forged the signatures of two city pension loan officials to steal at least $22,000, officials said.
Van Scott, 48, was arrested in Chinatown at about 9:45 a.m. He was charged with grand larceny, forgery and filing a false instrument.
A source familiar with the case said Scott was driven to the misconduct by financial woes after his wife fell ill and lost her job. He was paying the loans back, the source said.
“It’s a sad case,” the source said.
Scott sent two letters to the New York City Deferred Compensation Program bearing the fake signatures of Deborah Callender-Edwards and Thomas Miraglia of the NYPD Pension Fund, court records show.
Neither Callender-Edwards nor Miraglia signed either letter, which authorized Scott to get a $22,000 loan in 2015. The alleged scheme was uncovered in December when the two pension fund officials saw the fake signatures.
Scott pleaded guilty early Wednesday to petit larceny — a misdemeanor — in a brief hearing and agreed to resign from the department.
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