Sources: Nassau cop indictments coming

Indictments will be unsealed Thursday against three former high-ranking Nassau County Police Department commanders, sources said.

The sources said the three men are William Flanagan, second deputy commissioner; John Hunter, deputy chief of patrol; and Alan Sharpe, a recently retired deputy commander of the Seventh Precinct Squad. Flanagan and Hunter resigned Wednesday, the sources said.

The indictments are the result of an investigation by the office of District Attorney Kathleen Rice, the sources said.

One source confirmed reports that the three will face charges stemming from the department's handling of a 2009 burglary investigation at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore.

Police investigated charges that a student there, Zachary Parker, now 20, had stolen equipment, said Parker's attorney, Marc Gann of Mineola. However, police never arrested Parker, Gann said.

The Long Island Press first reported about the department's handling of the burglary inquiry in March 2011.

Gann said Parker's father, Gary Parker, who has friends in the police department, contacted school and police officials and asked them to handle the incident as a civil rather than a criminal matter.

The attorney for Gary Parker could not be reached for comment.

Zachary Parker was arrested by the district attorney's office after a grand jury indicted him on a third-degree burglary charge relating to the 2009 incident, a law enforcement source said. Those charges are pending.

Parker is accused of taking more than $8,000 of audiovisual equipment from John F. Kennedy High School, the law enforcement source said.

Sources said the three former police officials' indictment relates to ties Parker's father has to the Nassau Police Department Foundation, which raises money for police causes -- including a new police academy.

A spokesman for the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

Attorneys for the three men asserted their clients' innocence Wednesday.

"It's unfortunate that individuals have seen fit to leak criminal allegations to the media before disclosing the details to the individuals charged," said Bruce Barket of Garden City, who represents Flanagan. "Commissioner Flanagan emphatically denies any wrongdoing and certainly did not engage in any criminal conduct."

William Petrillo of Rockville Centre said he represents Hunter. He said he has not seen the indictment.

"The notion that Chief Hunter, a highly respected 35-year veteran of the police department, has committed any crime is patently false, and he will plead not guilty," Petrillo said.

Anthony Grandinette of Mineola said Sharpe, whom he represents, didn't make the decision not to arrest Parker, nor did he influence it.

"After disclosure of all the relevant facts in this case, I am confident that Al Sharpe will be totally exonerated," he said.