Former NYPD officer Andrew Nguyen is headed to federal prison for 90 months after admitting he took bribes and helped move kilos of cocaine while armed and flashing his police credentials to stay off law enforcement radar. Nguyen had pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy counts tied to bribery, narcotics distribution, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Former NYPD officer sentenced: “The greatest police department in the world does not accept corruption in its ranks, and this Office was proud to partner with them to root it out,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. @NYPDnews https://t.co/lvktT7Greq
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 22, 2026
Sentence and charges
In a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, prosecutors said U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, sitting in Manhattan federal court, imposed a 90 month prison term followed by three years of supervised release. According to the office, Nguyen, 41, of Harriman, New York, accepted more than $30,000 in bribe payments over roughly three years and transported about eight kilograms of cocaine while carrying an NYPD authorized off duty firearm, his official credentials, and an NYPD parking placard.
What prosecutors said
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, in a post on X, said, “The greatest police department in the world does not accept corruption in its ranks,” and noted that his office had partnered with the NYPD to root out the wrongdoing. The post linked back to the SDNY press release and laid out prosecutors' account of how Nguyen protected and moved drugs for a trafficking crew. The post is available on X.
Plea deal and sentencing recommendation
Nguyen pleaded guilty on January 29 as part of a plea agreement that, according to amNewYork, called for a sentencing range of roughly 147 to 168 months, or about 12¼ to 14 years. Judge Torres ultimately went far below that range, landing on a 90 month term and underscoring that federal judges are not locked into prosecutorial recommendations or guideline calculations.
Local context and implications
Prosecutors say Nguyen abused his shield and access to NYPD resources to help a drug operation working in the Bronx and Manhattan, a breach federal officials say was exposed with help from the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI. Hoodline first covered Nguyen's indictment in November 2025; see Nguyen's 2025 indictment for earlier reporting.
Legal implications
The firearm count Nguyen admitted to carries a mandatory minimum five year term that must be served consecutively to any other prison time, a statutory penalty prosecutors highlighted during the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in its press release. The case was handled by the SDNY Public Corruption and Narcotics Units, according to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. King and Jonathan E. Rebold in the release.
Nguyen was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office credited the coordinated investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau with bringing the corruption to light.
