By JONATHAN LEMIRE, HELEN PETERSON and TONY SCLAFANI
The off-duty Queens cop who allegedly schemed to rob drug dealers is a
hip-hop fanatic who drove luxury cars, flashed wads of cash and claimed he
was pals with rap superstars 50 Cent and Ja Rule, sources said yesterday.
Officer Donald Medard even rolled up to the 104th Precinct stationhouse in
Maspeth recently behind the wheel of a silver Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster,
police sources said.
The luxury sports car sells for $93,675 - more than double the 30-year-old
cop's NYPD salary.
"He was coming across like he was a big rap promoter," said a cop who asked
not to be named. "He was always saying he was going away to certain trips
... promoting this and that."
Medard's street smarts, black belt in karate and work ethic made him
seemingly a perfect fit for his precinct's special narcotics enforcement
unit, which targets drug dealers.
But prosecutors say he planned to prey on the same drug dealers during his
off time - teaming up with ex-cons in a plot to rob the hoodlums.
Medard and three pals were arrested in Washington Heights early Tuesday
after cops found guns, a ski mask and bulletproof vest inside his SUV,
police said.
He told cops he was one of the city's Finest - and then went to grab his
9-mm. Glock service weapon "in a manner that led the arresting officer to
fear for his life," a prosecutor said.
In a videotaped confession, one of Medard's alleged cohorts, Claude Dorsica,
20, of Elmont, L.I., said the crew was planning to commit robberies,
prosecutors said.
"We have reason to believe the defendant was part of a plan to shake down
and rob drug dealers in the area," Assistant District Attorney Joshua
Steinglass said at Medard's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Medard, an Army veteran who joined the NYPD in 2003, has been charged with
gun possession. Cops were checking if he is linked to any unsolved robberies
and asked drug dealers to come forward with information.
Medard was stopped 1:30 a.m. by cops at W. 180th St. and Audubon Ave. after
a 911 caller told police someone in a black GMC Yukon had committed an
assault.
Cops spotted a 9-mm. semiautomatic pistol, a .380-caliber gun and
.45-caliber gun in the SUV, court records show. The loaded guns' serial
numbers had been scratched off, sources said.
Even before his arrest, Medard had raised the suspicions of fellow cops
because he often carried a bulletproof vest home with him, sources said.
"He was known to have three or four vests [in his stationhouse locker] and
he would always come in to work with his vest," a cop said. "Why do you need
four?"
Medard also was outspoken about his desire to leave the NYPD, telling
several cops he dreamed of breaking into the hip-hop industry. He
distributed flyers touting rappers performing at nightspots including
Manhattan's Club Exit, and claimed to be near signing a $1 million rap
contract, sources said.
"He definitely didn't like working for the NYPD. He felt they were racist to
some degree," a cop said, adding that Medard had blasted officers who he
believed had pulled him over while driving because he is black.
Medard's wife, Kimberly, refused to bring their children, ages 8 and 9, to
his arraignment. But she still defended him.
"I guess the police believe their story, but I believe mine," she said
through the door of her Queens Village apartment. "I believe him. I believe
in him."
Medard was being held on $10,000 bail. If he comes up with the cash,
authorities will scrutinize where he got it.
Ja Rule's attorney said the rapper did not know Medard, and 50 Cent's
representatives did not return calls.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/378623p-321542c.html
The off-duty Queens cop who allegedly schemed to rob drug dealers is a
hip-hop fanatic who drove luxury cars, flashed wads of cash and claimed he
was pals with rap superstars 50 Cent and Ja Rule, sources said yesterday.
Officer Donald Medard even rolled up to the 104th Precinct stationhouse in
Maspeth recently behind the wheel of a silver Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster,
police sources said.
The luxury sports car sells for $93,675 - more than double the 30-year-old
cop's NYPD salary.
"He was coming across like he was a big rap promoter," said a cop who asked
not to be named. "He was always saying he was going away to certain trips
... promoting this and that."
Medard's street smarts, black belt in karate and work ethic made him
seemingly a perfect fit for his precinct's special narcotics enforcement
unit, which targets drug dealers.
But prosecutors say he planned to prey on the same drug dealers during his
off time - teaming up with ex-cons in a plot to rob the hoodlums.
Medard and three pals were arrested in Washington Heights early Tuesday
after cops found guns, a ski mask and bulletproof vest inside his SUV,
police said.
He told cops he was one of the city's Finest - and then went to grab his
9-mm. Glock service weapon "in a manner that led the arresting officer to
fear for his life," a prosecutor said.
In a videotaped confession, one of Medard's alleged cohorts, Claude Dorsica,
20, of Elmont, L.I., said the crew was planning to commit robberies,
prosecutors said.
"We have reason to believe the defendant was part of a plan to shake down
and rob drug dealers in the area," Assistant District Attorney Joshua
Steinglass said at Medard's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Medard, an Army veteran who joined the NYPD in 2003, has been charged with
gun possession. Cops were checking if he is linked to any unsolved robberies
and asked drug dealers to come forward with information.
Medard was stopped 1:30 a.m. by cops at W. 180th St. and Audubon Ave. after
a 911 caller told police someone in a black GMC Yukon had committed an
assault.
Cops spotted a 9-mm. semiautomatic pistol, a .380-caliber gun and
.45-caliber gun in the SUV, court records show. The loaded guns' serial
numbers had been scratched off, sources said.
Even before his arrest, Medard had raised the suspicions of fellow cops
because he often carried a bulletproof vest home with him, sources said.
"He was known to have three or four vests [in his stationhouse locker] and
he would always come in to work with his vest," a cop said. "Why do you need
four?"
Medard also was outspoken about his desire to leave the NYPD, telling
several cops he dreamed of breaking into the hip-hop industry. He
distributed flyers touting rappers performing at nightspots including
Manhattan's Club Exit, and claimed to be near signing a $1 million rap
contract, sources said.
"He definitely didn't like working for the NYPD. He felt they were racist to
some degree," a cop said, adding that Medard had blasted officers who he
believed had pulled him over while driving because he is black.
Medard's wife, Kimberly, refused to bring their children, ages 8 and 9, to
his arraignment. But she still defended him.
"I guess the police believe their story, but I believe mine," she said
through the door of her Queens Village apartment. "I believe him. I believe
in him."
Medard was being held on $10,000 bail. If he comes up with the cash,
authorities will scrutinize where he got it.
Ja Rule's attorney said the rapper did not know Medard, and 50 Cent's
representatives did not return calls.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/378623p-321542c.html
