NY NEWS BRIEFS

NYPD cop pleads in gun smuggling case

The NYPD officer accused of leading a ring of fellow cops that transported stolen goods and illegal guns pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy Monday in federal court in Manhattan.

William Masso, 48, of Brooklyn, was caught in a sting operation and charged last October along with seven other cops or former cops and four other men. He is the first of the 12 to plead guilty.

Beginning in 2009, the ring allegedly moved rifles, handguns, slot machines, cigarettes and other merchandise with a street value of $1 million. They were unknowingly working with an undercover agent and an FBI informant.

The NYPD said Masso was fired after his plea Monday, and will receive no pension or benefits.

Masso faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 15.

-- JOHN RILEY

Suspect in cop's shooting indicted

The man accused of shooting a city cop last week was indicted Monday, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said.

Luis Ortiz, 21, was charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting Officer Kevin Brennan in the head after Brennan and two other cops responded to a call of shots fired at a Brooklyn housing complex. Brennan, 29, is expected to recover from the wound.

Eric Poulos, Ortiz's lawyer, did not return a call for comment last night.

If convicted, Ortiz faces 25 years to life in prison.

-- amNewYork

Man in high-speed Thruway chase dead

State Police say a man who led troopers on a high-speed chase for almost 40 miles on the state Thruway died when his car crashed into some trees.

The chase began when troopers spotted a stolen car on the Thruway near the Fultonville Exit just before 5 a.m. Monday. Police say Ricardo Bernabeu Jr., 25, drove east at speeds topping 100 mph. Bernabeu was killed about 20 minutes later when his speeding car skidded off Albany's Exit 23 ramp.

The car was stolen from a gas station in Canastota, about 20 miles east of Syracuse.

Police say he'd driven a stolen car from Rochester that he abandoned in Canastota before stealing the second car.

Albany protesters disrupt hearing

Occupy Albany disrupted a legislative budget hearing Monday with calls for tax fairness and claims Wall Street pays too little.

About 20 protesters in the audience broke into the hearing with a "mic check," shouting in unison that millionaires should be taxed more.

They unfurled a couple of banners decrying corporate tax loopholes and breaks for "the 1 percent." The protesters also criticized increased state university tuitions and said corporations and the rich have too much influence in government.

The interruption in Monday's joint Senate and Assembly budget hearing on taxes lasted less than 10 minutes before the protesters filed out on their own. There were no arrests.

Occupy Albany camped and demonstrated in a park across from the Capitol for two months until they were evicted on Dec. 22.

Rare swans a sight on Lake Champlain

Three swans from the Arctic tundra are drawing bird watchers to a state park on Lake Champlain.

The three tundra swans, two adults and a juvenile, have established a temporary presence just offshore from Ausable Point State Park in northern New York. The Plattsburgh Press-Republican reports that the birds, which are rarely seen in New York, have been observed there for the past few weeks.

A state wildlife biologist says the trio has probably chosen to stay on Lake Champlain for the time being because of the mild winter and open lake.

Compiled from wire reports