FLUSHING — A Flushing man was arraigned on criminal impersonation charges after he allegedly posed as an undercover police officer, a spokeswoman for Queens DA Richard Brown said Monday.
Vincent Raffa, 25, of 146-07 25th Drive in Flushing, was allegedly inside a neighbor’s garage wearing a T-shirt that had the NYPD emblem on it at around 5 p.m. July 9, according to the criminal complaint.
Raffa allegedly closed the door to the garage and told four men inside he was an undercover officer and demanded they return a stolen watch and empty their pockets, the complaint said.
When Raffa did not find the watch he was talking about, he allegedly showed a pair of handcuffs to the victims and threatened to arrest them, the complaint said.
Raffa was arraigned July 10 before Queens Criminal Court Judge William Harrington on charges of criminal impersonation and unauthorized possession of handcuffs, thumb cuffs or leg irons, a spokeswoman for the DA said.
Raffa was released on his own recognizance, the spokeswoman said. He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 10, she said.
