Until the day he was arrested and charged with money-laundering, gynecologist Michael Turano enjoyed one of the most coveted perks in NYC: an NYPD dashboard placard that for years allowed him to park for free anywhere in the city. According to official correspondence dug up by the NY Times, Turano and his brother Gerard (also a gynecologist) got the placards as favors though state senator Carl Kruger, who was recently accused of taking more than $1 million in bribes and using shell companies to launder the money with the help of Michael Turano, with whom he lives (along with Gerard and their elderly mother) in a garish McMansion in Mill Basin, Brooklyn.
A letter to Rudy Giuliani's Deputy Mayor Randy M. Mastro in 1998 details the request, which was placed by Michael R. Geller, Giuliani's rep on the NYC Arts Commission: "Recently, our friend State Senator Carl Kruger wrote to you regarding the reappointment and the appointment of Drs. Gerard and Michael Turano as police surgeons," Geller writes. “Randy, permit to underscore Carl’s letter. The Turanos are extraordinary young men of integrity and honor and would make a significant contribution to the police surgeons." Because you never know when the NYPD will need an emergency pap smear.
According to the Times, the two doctors never performed any services for the department, but that's typical of "Honorary Police Surgeons." Gerard lost his privileges in 2003 when it was found that he wasn't board-certified, but Michael enjoyed his perk until his arrest, presumably using it to park the Bentley Kruger allegedly bought with bribe money. Reached for comment, Kruger's lawyer didn't see what the big deal was, since everyone was abusing parking placards in those days. "We do not believe that it was in any way inappropriate, as it was a common courtesy extended by dozens of politicians during that period," attorney Benjamin Brafman tells the Times, as the sound of a slide whistle accompanies a sudden growth of his nose.
