Former Cop Jailed for Trying to Prevent Zachary Parker's Arrest

Former Nassau County Police Commissioner William Flanagan was sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison for his role preventing the arrest of a Merrick teenager whose father was a personal friend and financial benefactor of the police.

Flanagan, 55, was convicted by a jury in February on two counts of official misconduct and one count of sixth-degree conspiracy. He was sentenced by Judge Mark D. Cohen to five months in jail on each of the official misconduct charges and 60 days in jail for the Conspiracy charge.

However, three of the five months of Flanagan's jail sentence on official misconduct can be satisfied by him serving 60 days jail and completing 420 hours of non-law enforcement related community service.

"Today’s sentence is the culmination of a case that sent a clear message to those who mistakenly think they can abuse the public trust without consequence,” Rice said. “This defendant violated his oath as a police officer and let down not just the public, but the hard-working men and women of the Nassau County Police Department who put their lives on the line every day."

According to multiple reports, Merrick resident and former Kennedy student Zachary Parker, now 21, was charged with stealing more than $3,000 worth of computers after he allegedly broke into Kennedy High School in 2009.

Flanagan, John Hunter and Alan Sharpe were indicted by a grand jury on charges that they conspired to and intentionally prevented the arrest of Parker. 

The Long Island Press, which first reported the story in March 2011, says that Parker's father, Gary, is a business associate of a group called the Nassau Police Department Foundation, which says on its website that it was founded to help fund a new police academy.

This is a breaking news story, and Patch will provide more details as they're made available.