Nassau County Probation Officer Accused Of Coercing Probationer To Steal
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A Nassau County probation officer is accused of forcing one of his probationers to steal for him in exchange for a favorable report.
Andy Jean-Louis, 46, of Dix Hills, was indicted Wednesday on 37 counts, including coercion, bribe receiving and attempted grand larceny.
He turned around multiple times in court to apologize to his wife, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.
Jean-Louis allegedly threatened a woman on probation, forcing her to steal items from stores, like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Best Buy, then return the stolen items for gift cards.
"If she didn't do it, that she would get bad reports. And when she did comply and give him gift cards, then he would say, 'you'll get a good report,'" Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.
Authorities said Jean-Louis claimed he needed the money to buy clothes for his three children.
"To my understanding, he's been a probation officer for approximately eight to nine years. So I can only assume that being employed eight or nine years, he must be doing what he's supposed to do," his lawyer said.
If convicted, Jean-Louis faces up to seven years in prison.