NYPD SBA Union Head From Nassau Pleads Guilty In 4-Year, $600K Fraud

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — The former president of the New York Police Department's Sergeants' Benevolent Association pleaded guilty to wire fraud for stealing $600,000 in fraudulent expense reports, federal prosecutors announced last week.

Edward Mullins, 61, lives in Port Washington, where his home was raided in 2021 by the FBI, along with the SBA's headquarters in Manhattan. After the raid, Mullins retired after a 19-year tenure marked by clashes with New York City mayors. He famously shared former mayor Bill de Blasio's daughter's arrest record, leading to disciplinary actions by the NYPD.

Mullins admitted to submitting "false and inflated expense reports to the SBA, representing that his charges were legitimate SBA expenditures when in fact they were not," prosecutors said.

Beginning in 2017, he submitted reimbursements for high-end restaurant meals and luxury personal items, and inflated the cost of the expenses and pocketed the difference, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District's office said.

“Edward Mullins promised to look out for the thousands of hard-working NYPD Sergeants who are members of the SBA. Instead, as admitted today in federal court, he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them to fund his lavish lifestyle," U.S. attorney Damian Williams said.

Mullins was one of the most prominent police union heads during his time as president of the fifth-largest police union in the country, appearing regularly on cable news programs.

Mullins received reimbursement for expenses like his own supermarket bills, all being paid for by the SBA's Contingent Fund, funded from annual dues paid by SBA members.

Court filings as reported by Gothamist show that Mullins once spent $45 at a New Jersey wine bar but got $845 back from the SBA. Another $3,000 high-end restaurant bill that the SBA paid for was for a meal with his family and friends.

On Jan. 19, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Mullins must also forfeit $600,000 to the U.S. and return the same amount to the SBA. His sentencing will be May 25.