NYPD Sergeants Sue After Being Accused Of Cheating On Promotional Exam

During the March 23 promotional exam for lieutenant in Staten Island, which started two hours late, test takers were told to put cell phones in plastic bags under their chairs — even though state law says devices aren’t supposed to be brought inside test sites at all, the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit claims.

The trio of candidates — Eda Bifulco, Brent Curry and Scott DeFalco — said they only checked their phones for messages from their families after the exams were already submitted and scored.

A month later, they received letters in the mail from DCAS notifying them of their violation, and informing them that their tests would not be scored and that they would be barred from any civil service exam for five years.

DCAS later withdrew the five-year penalty, admitting there was “ambiguity” surrounding the end time, according to the court documents.

“I dedicated my life to this examination for 8 months, working through obstacles in my personal and professional life,” DeFalco, a sergeant in the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge, argued.

He said he was checking his phone for updates on his hospitalized 85-year-old grandmother.

Curry, a criminal intelligence sergeant, claimed he was checking on his 1-year-old daughter who came down with a high fever that morning.

Bifulco, a housing cop in Lower Manhattan, wrote that she needed to check on her kids.

The Article 78 lawsuit states that the same issue occurred the next day at the Staten Island facility and that the location is the only one where officers were disqualified for using phones after the test ended.

The cops are asking a judge to reverse the disqualifications, for their exams to be scored and for them to be placed on the list for promotions. They are also seeking monetary compensation and the full benefits they would have earned if they were selected for lieutenant when first eligible.

The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.