Police sources confirm that the controversial and charismatic Staten Island NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Marino has filed for retirement.
Former Chief of Department Joe Esposito has called him “a cop to the marrow of his bones” and “a great leader.”
As executive officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, Marino was one of 27 officers whose names turned up in the records of a Bay Ridge pharmacy that had sold $8 million in steroids and human growth hormones in 2007. He admitted buying a topical steroid cream from the pharmacy but said it was for low testosterone. He volunteered to take a drug test and passed.
In 2009, on Halloween night, he led a police team that rousted Police Officer Adrian Schoolcraft from his Queens apartment and took him against his will to Jamaica Hospital, where he was confined to its psychiatric ward for five days. Schoolcraft is suing the city for $50 million over the incident.
Most recently, as deputy chief in Staten Island, he had a patrol car parked outside his home while he and his bride, Sgt. Amanda Palmenta, honeymooned in Florida for five days.
Like many self-respecting chiefs, he has applied for a line-of-duty, tax-free disability pension. His disability is unclear.
Marino did not return text messages for comment.
