by Cory Tischbein
Queens prosecutors arraigned a 57-year-old Long Island resident and longtime Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker last Thursday on charges of attempting to meet an NYPD Vice detective, whom the accused believed was a 14-year-old Queens girl, for sex.
Bruce Boland, 57, of Merrick, L.I., has worked as a track safety officer for the MTA for the past 35 years. He faces charges of first-degree attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors and attempted endangering the welfare of a child, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
“This case should once again serve as a warning to parents that there are sexual predators who troll the Internet hoping to lure young children into dangerous situations,” Brown said.
Authorities arrested Boland in an Internet sex sting at his Merrick home on the morning of June 18, the DA said. Queens Criminal Court Judge Mary O'Donoghue ordered Boland held on $25,000 bond or $15,000 cash at his arraignment and ordered him to return to court July 3.
If convicted, Boland faces up to four years in prison and can lose his job.
Boland's lawyer, Dominick Addabbo, declined to comment.
Since the evening of April 2, Boland has allegedly been using the Internet to send explicit instant messages from the screen name “totherescue6700” to an undercover NYPD Vice Enforcement detective operating as a 14-year-old Queens girl, according to Brown.
Boland allegedly wrote, “I'm Bruce, a Dad with daughters 19 and 23” to the undercover detective, the DA said.
Boland and the detective had several additional conversations between April 2 and June 18, during which Boland allegedly expressed his desire to have sex with the girl and attempted to meet with the undercover in Queens twice, but later cancelled each meeting, Brown said.Authorities were keeping the undercover detective's identity secret.
