Two former NYPD cops and a retired detective pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a bribes-for-weapons scheme that forced the NYPD to redo the way it handles gun permits.
Former Lt. Paul Dean and ex-cop Robert Espinel have been charged with accepting bribes of booze, strippers and hookers in exchange for hard-to-obtain pistol permits from the NYPD License Division, where they worked at the time.
Former NYPD Detective Gaetano “Guy” Valastro was among the alleged bribers, Manhattan federal prosecutors have said.
Prosector Russell Capone said the government expects to prove the case using audio recordings showing Dean and Espinel retired from the force in order to join Valastro in a scheme to “bribe their former colleagues” into granting them gun permits.
