Ex-SBA president Ed Mullins sentenced to 2 years for defrauding police union

The former president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association was sentenced to 2 years in prison on Thursday for stealing $600,000 from the organization by submitting inflated and bogus expense reports, federal prosecutors said.

Edward Mullins of Port Washington admitted the theft when he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in January. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan. Koeltl also ordered him to forfeit the $600,000 and make restitution.

“My regret cannot be put into words,” Mullins said. “I make no excuses. I made an incredibly bad decision.”

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Mullins used his own credit card beginning in 2017 to pay for meals at high-end restaurants and to purchase luxury personal items. Mullins then submitted false and inflated expense reports to the SBA.

Mullins, 61, routinely included meals on his expense reports that were not SBA-related and he inflated the costs of his meals, Williams said. The union chief also submitted requests for reimbursement for personal items, including clothing and supermarket expenses, that were not related to his work as an SBA official.

“For years, Edward Mullins abused his position as the head of the SBA to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the pockets of hardworking NYPD sergeants," Williams said in a new release. "Mullins publicly vowed to protect the interests of the thousands of active and retired sergeants that he represented. But behind the scenes, Mullins stole from the SBA and its members, treating the SBA as his personal piggy bank. In doing so, Mullins disgraced his uniform, broke the law, and undermined the public’s trust in law enforcement."

Thomas Kenniff, Mullins’ attorney, said he was disappointed that Koeltl sentenced the 39-year NYPD veteran to prison, but pleased that the judge sentenced Mullins to a sentence far less than the 41 months sought by prosecutors. 

“That speaks volumes about the good acts and public service he has performed during his lifetime,” Keniff said.

The SBA, which represents about 13,000 active and retired sergeants, is the nation’s fifth-largest police union.

Mullins served as president of the SBA from 2002 until October 2021, when he resigned after the FBI searched the union’s Manhattan office and his Long Island home. Weeks later, he retired from the New York Police Department.

Mullins was known for his acerbic, pointed comments as leader of the SBA.

In November 2021, after he resigned as SBA head, Mullins was found guilty at an NYPD departmental trial of using foul language against public officials and disclosing the arrest record of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter. He was docked 70 vacation days or about $30,000.

With the AP