An NYPD cop is facing criminal charges for sharing a suspect’s credit card number with bumbling buddies who tried but failed to use the digits on a Starbucks run, police and prosecutors said Wednesday.
“Lunch on me guys!” Officer Andy Urrutia allegedly boasted in a text message chain with his friends after sharing an arrested woman’s credit card number, expiration date and
security code on March 23.
Urrutia, 23, also sent photos of the credit card, which was among the woman’s seized belongings while she was being held at the
52nd Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx.
“Try it,” the cop wrote. “You are all welcome
Urrutia’s largesse at the unsuspecting woman’s expense drew rave reviews from his friends, particularly one buddy named “Lemon” who joked, “Probably got overdraft fees cause they broke.”
Another friend wrote, “About to run it up at Starbucks.”
But the card number was declined by a Starbucks barista. Urrutia’s friends tried to run the card four times before giving up, according to court records.
When the arrestee learned her card was used and declined while it was sitting in an NYPD stationhouse, she reported the fraud to authorities.
It didn’t take the
NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau long to trace the crime to Urrutia, who was taken into custody early Tuesday after finishing a midnight shift.
“When he got off, they were waiting for him in the upper lot” of the 52nd Precinct stationhouse, an NYPD source said. “He was taking pictures of victims’ and perps’ IDs and credit cards and sending them to friends who made charges.”
Cops and prosecutors were investigating if Urrutia had shared any other suspects’ credit card numbers with his friends, sources said.
