Cop Stole Townhouse: Officer Blanche O’Neal Steals Family Townhouse In Own Neighborhood
A New York cop stole a townhouse, and her actions have caught up with her. Officer Blanche O’Neal with the New York Police Department was arrested and brought into court on Monday to face charges after it was discovered that she’d stolen a family’s three-story townhouse in Brooklyn.
According to CBS New York, it was discovered last year that the cop had stolen the townhouse when a buyer contacted a family member of the deceased owner. The home had sat vacant for many years.
Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson said that the homeowner of 23A Vernon Avenue died back in 1993. Her nephew and two other relatives inherited the property, but it sat empty for several years until O’Neal’s falsified information came to light. Thompson said, “And that was an opportunity that we allege this officer took advantage of by filing the necessary paperwork to be able to gain ownership falsely over the property in Bed Stuy.”
NYPD Officer Indicted for Stealing Townhouse; Allegedly Transferred Title to Bedford-Stuyvesant Property to Herself: https://t.co/zBSj7VrL9X
— Ken Thompson (@BrooklynDA) October 19, 2015
Thompson said that O’Neal filed a deed in 2012 in which she transferred the property from the deceased owner’s nephew to herself. The officer, now on suspension without pay from the 83rd Precinct in Bushwick, alleged that he sold it to her for $10,000. Ironically, it was Blanche O’Neal who alerted authorities when the rightful owners tried to sell it. She claimed that someone was trying to commit fraud against her on the deed. USA Today reports that among the many charges against this cop who allegedly stole the townhouse, are “grand larceny and perjury for allegedly forging the deed to a dead neighbor’s property and naming herself as the owner.”
New post: “NYPD cop stole 4-story townhouse, DA says” https://t.co/zSNTECYdt6
— USA tday (@mshusa) October 20, 2015
The name of the deceased homeowner is Lillian Hudson. The townhouse was to go to three surviving family members, but the New York police officer used false information in her filings with the city in that she purchased the property for $10,000 from the nephew. The deed was supposedly signed by him, but it was a forgery. When all three family members tried to sell the townhouse, that’s when it was learned that the cop had stolen the townhouse; O’Neal was caught.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office also reports that New York City Sheriff Joseph Fucito is working with the D.A. on this case in which a cop stole a vacant townhouse. Fucito took the opportunity to issue a strong stance against anyone who thinks they can just falsify legal documents within the police department.
Fucito said, “The Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating real property theft and related financial crimes throughout New York City. Those who think they can simply file false documentation with the NYC Department of Finance should take notice. The Sheriff will aggressively investigate and arrest any party involved in such criminal activity.”
O’Neal lied about owning the property while under oath in 2014, hence being charged with perjury. She reportedly lives in the same neighborhood where the townhouse is located.
When suspicions emerged that this cop stole the townhouse, an investigation was launched by the New York City Office of the Sheriff, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and multiple investigators under the supervision of Officer Fucito.
According to the district attorney’s website, the case is being prosecuted by “Senior Assistant District Attorney Frank Dudis, of the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit, under the supervision of Richard Farrell, Unit Chief, and Felice Sontupe, Chief of the Frauds Bureau, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the Investigations Division.”
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
