PRESCHOOL TEACHER WRONGFULLY CAUGHT IN NYPD STING OPERATION FOR STOLEN iPAD SUES FOR $15 MILLION

FERMINA PENA

A longtime Bronx preschool teacher — snared in an NYPD sting operation — lost her job after she literally got left holding the bag.
The trouble for Fermina Pena began in April when her co-worker, Sabina Deleon, met with undercover cops inside a McDonald’s on E. 204th St. in Norwood. Deleon, according to court papers, agreed to buy a “stolen” iPad mini for $100.

Pena, 43, was walking from a supermarket during her lunch break, returning to work at the Monsignor Boyle Little Angels Head Start program. She ran into Deleon, who had just exited the fast-food joint.

Deleon, 41, asked Pena to hold the gadget. Then Pena placed the iPad alongside some potato chips in her plastic grocery bag. The cops pounced on a group of teachers and demanded to see some identification. The women complied and were released.

They returned to work but several minutes later, the cops showed up at the school on Hull Ave. and demanded that Deleon and Pena come outside. Both women were handcuffed.
“It hurt me a lot that a little boy who was waiting for his dad saw me getting arrested,” Pena told the media.

“I didn’t know what she bought was stolen,” added Pena, a mother of two who is married to a retired NYPD sergeant. “I feel the police had me confused with someone or they should have investigated more.”

Pena was charged with possession of stolen property and was suspended without pay from her job of 11 years. She was fired in June — a month before the charges were dismissed.

Now she’s filed a notice of claim, notifying the city and the NYPD of her intent to sue. Pena, whose job paid her $600 a week, is seeking $15 million.

Pena’s lawyer, Eric Sanders, said the cops falsely claimed in court papers that Pena was “acting in concert” with Deleon when the cops should have known better. The video in the McDonald’s would clearly prove Pena was not involved in the purchase, Sanders said.
The charge against Pena was dismissed because of “evidentiary issues,” according to a spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson.
 

Deleon pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a violation. She was fired and declined comment when reached by The News.

“These police stings, executed solely to generate arrest numbers, are just as intrusive and violate the U.S. Constitution just as the recently determined stop-and-frisk policy,” Sanders said. “This unfettered police activity has hurt Mrs. Pena as well as countless others.”

Pena is heartbroken about being given her walking papers from the job she adores so much.

“I was counting the days to go back to work, I love working with children,” she said.
Pena was informed she could “reapply” for her job but there’s no guarantee she will be rehired. A spokeswoman for the program did not return a call for comment.

Typically, in these types of sting operations, the undercover officer makes it clear to the buyer that the goods are stolen. Critics say it’s entrapment, while police say the stings deter crime and the fencing of stolen goods.

A spokeswoman for the city Law Department said Pena’s suit will be reviewed when it is received.