Thursday, the former president of one of the largest police unions in the country was sentenced to two years in prison for plundering $600,000 from a fund comprised of contributions from Sergeants Benevolent Association members.
Ed Mullins was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge John G. Koeltl, who stated that he weighed Mullins’ four decades of police work and numerous charitable deeds against the offense he committed from 2017 to 2021. Mullins was also ordered to pay and forfeit $600,000 in restitution and forfeiture, respectively.
Mullins, 61, of Port Washington, pled guilty to wire fraud in January and acknowledged the larceny. He stated on Thursday that he “lost” himself while committing the offense. “My regret cannot be expressed in words,” said Mullins. “I make no apologies. “I made an incredibly poor choice.” Prosecutors requested a sentence of up to three and a half years in prison, which was stipulated in his plea agreement.
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SBA: 5th Largest US Police Union; President Accused of False Portrayal
The SBA, which represents approximately 13,000 active and retired sergeants, is the fifth-largest police union in the United States. Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra Rothman stated that Mullins portrayed himself as the union’s courageous commander. She stated, however, that behind closed doors he was a criminal and a deceiver.
Mullins resigned as director of the SBA in October 2021 after the FBI searched the union’s Manhattan office and his Long Island residence. He retired from the New York Police Department several weeks later. According to prosecutors, Mullins stole money to pay for meals at upscale restaurants and to purchase jewelry and other luxury personal items. Occasionally, he allegedly charged his personal grocery bills to the union and billed expensive meals with associates as business expenses.
Thomas Kenniff, his attorney, informed the judge that his client did not live extravagantly on his approximately $250,000 salary. “This once-mighty figure now sits in humiliation before this court,” he remarked, referring to the disgrace Mullins must endure. As he exited the courthouse, Mullins declined comment. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated in a press release that the sentence demonstrates that “no one is above the law, not even high-ranking union bosses.”
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