Ex-Cop Accused of "Structuring" Acquitted

An NYPD officer who was accused of "structuring" and fired from his job five days before his federal trial was acquitted today of charges that he tried to hide money from the government. Former sergeant William Lewis, a 25-year veteran of the NYPD, successfully convinced the jury he was hiding the money—which he had been withdrawing in amounts just under $10,000, totaling nearly $100,000—from his ex-wife, not the IRS. When his current girlfriend hid the money from him (due to a "lovers quarrel"), Lewis reported the missing money and even directed cops to the girlfriend, which led to the investigation and his firing.

Though it was a relief for Lewis, who said after the verdict "I’m finally vindicated...It was an absolute witch hunt," he indicated that he had been hounded by Internal Affairs Bureau for years, stemming from a 2007 investigation into whether he'd tipped off the owner of a Staten Island bar involved with gambling (video of the bar, "Beer Goggles," as well as the original accusations against Lewis, can be seen here).

Lewis was cleared of those charges after it was revealed that "the department falsified records of phone calls between him and the bar owner," the Post reports. His lawyer Eric Franz called the trial the result of the "vindictiveness of Internal Affairs," and vowed to sue the NYPD for Lewis's pension, which he lost when he was fired, as well as pursue civil rights violations against the IAB investigators.