Ex-NYPD deputy inspector cleared at police corruption trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A former deputy inspector for the New York Police Department has been exonerated on bribery charges.

The verdict Wednesday that cleared James Grant also resulted in the conviction of his co-defendant, businessman Jeremy Reichberg.

The trial cast a negative light on Mayor Bill de Blasio after Reichberg and another businessman raised money for the Democrat. The mayor was never accused of wrongdoing.

Grant’s exoneration was a rare loss for prosecutors in a Manhattan courthouse where they secure convictions against most defendants.

Prosecutors claimed Grant helped Reichberg obtain a licensed gun more quickly than usual and gave him other assistance in return for gifts.

They also said Reichberg and another businessman once dressed as Santa Clause to deliver gifts to high-ranking police officials on Christmas Day 2013.