Ex-Port Authority cop gets 7 years for shaking down truckers

The Associated Press

4/18/2008

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A former Port Authority police officer gets a seven-year prison term for shaking down over $37,000 from truckers instead of writing tickets.

Monmouth County prosecutors say Robert Nanni told truckers the money was for a youth baseball team he managed in Howell Township. But authorities say Nanni used the money for personal expenses, including furniture and mortgage payments.

The 53-year-old pleaded guilty last month to official misconduct and theft charges. He has agreed to repay the money.

Nanni had been an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 20 years until 2006. He checked trucks entering New York on the Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing.