Disgraced NYPD cop who took mistress on drunken joyride in cruiser dodges jail
A disgraced former NYPD Deputy Inspector has avoided jail after admitting to taking his mistress on a drunken joyride before crashing into a taxi cab.
Paul Zangrilli pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drunk driving as well as covering up the incident and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge, a $750 fine and a 90-day suspended license.
Zangrilli smiled at his former lover, Nikole Rupple, as the pair sat next to each other at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse and heard their punishments for their 2022 drunken rampage.
The pair had sunk 10 beers and 12 shots between them in the space of three hours at the American Whiskey bar near Penn Station before Zangrilli let Rupple get behind the wheel of his NYPD-issued cruiser at around 5:40 p.m. on August 15, 2022, an indictment from last year stated.
5 Disgraced former NYPD officer Paul Zangrilli.
Steven Hirsch
Zangrilli was allowed to take an unmarked vehicle — a white Chevy Equinox — for use on official business on the day, ADA Samantha Dworkin told the court.
After Rupple crashed into a cab, damaging both vehicles, the pair fled the scene without exchanging information, the court heard.
They then stopped and Zangrilli got into the driver's seat and drove off, before the cabbie caught up with their vehicle and flagged down a marked police car, who forced the pair to pull over, the court heard.
5 Zangrilli and his then-mistress, Nikole Rupple (R), went on a drunken joyride in a police cruiser after sinking 22 drinks between them in 3 hours.
Steven Hirsch
Zangrilli, who was seeing Rupple while still married to his then-wife, tried to conceal evidence of the crash by attempting to bribe the driver of the cab he hit and calling the owner of the bar the pair had been at and asking him to delete their surveillance footage, court papers earlier revealed.
'They nearly got away with it,' Dworkin said.
Rupple was never identified as the driver and taxpayers were forced to foot the bill when the livery cab driver sued the city for $75,000, Dworkin said.
Fearing 'professional retribution,' lower-ranked officers didn't come forward to testify against Zangrilli, she told the court.
5 Zangrilli avoided jail but was banned from serving in the force and lost his NYPD pension.
Steven Hirsch
'That is a reminder of what this case is about,' she added.
Rupple, who is reportedly no longer with Zangrilli, shook in court as she was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to install and maintain an ignition interlock device in any vehicle she uses during that time.
5 Rupple's lawyer said she wanted to 'get on with her life.'
Steven Hirsch
She was also ordered to complete the Impaired Driver Program and her license will be suspended for six months.
Zangrilli, who led Manhattan's 5th Precinct, had previously been terminated from the NYPD and lost his pension after nearly 20 years on the force, the plea agreement noted.
'I think that the punishment is overkill. It's unfortunate,' Zangrilli's lawyer, Eric Franz, told The Post. 'The man gave so much to so many in this community and the 5th precinct, to the department. He went to the FBI Academy, studied at John Jay. He made a mistake. He didn't want to reveal that his marriage was falling apart and he had a relationship with someone else – that's a purely human thing that happened [that] we should recognize.'
Zangrilli had 'lost everything,' Franz added.
Rupple, wearing all black, said she wanted to 'get on with her life,' she told The Post via her lawyer, Scott Leemon.
5 Zangrilli was leader of Manhattan's 5th Precinct before the drunken rampage.
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'It's been one tiresome ordeal and she's finally glad to put this behind her and get on with her life,' he said.
Zangrilli, dressed in a light blue suit and brown shoes, apologized to New Yorkers when asked if he had anything to say by Judge Cori Weston.
'I just want to say I'm sorry to a lot of people, the court, and mostly to the people of New York who rely on me for a long time. Being a member of the NYPD was 100% part of my life,' he said, speaking softly.
'This loss of that career is probably the toughest.'
The Manhattan D.A.'s office has spoken following the verdict.
'Members of law enforcement, particularly those in leadership positions, must obey the laws they are entrusted to enforce,' D.A. Alvin Bragg said.
'Former Deputy Inspector Zangrilli misused his authority to cover up a dangerous drunk driving incident. Public servants who abuse their positions of power and violate the trust of the people they serve will face consequences.'
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