Ooops! NYPD Internal Affairs Police Sergeant Victor Leandry busted for buying an iPhone in a police street sting

A SERGEANT from an NYPD bureau that roots out bad cops has been charged with buying a stolen iPhone in a sting set up by his fellow officers, the Daily News has learned.

Internal Affairs Bureau Sgt. Victor Leandry was scooped up in a Dec. 3 sting in Washington Heights after buying a $15 Apple device from a plainclothes cop on the street — but his lawyer said he can’t be charged because he was never told the phone was hot.

“Tourists flock to this city every day from other countries to engage in the experience of buying goods on the streets of New York City,” said the lawyer, John D’Alessandro. “There is nothing criminal about it.”

Police in recent months have focused on bodegas and other small businesses suspected of paying teens to steal handheld electronic devices — especially Apple products — so they can be sold on the black market.

In the sting in question, police set out to sell “stolen” devices to merchants in Washington Heights, D’Alessandro said.

Instead, he said, a female officer approached Leandry near Broadway and W. 161st St., then badgered him until he agreed to buy the phone for $15, the only money he had on him.

“He absolutely denies it was offered as stolen property,” the lawyer said. “It was a poorly planned operation.

There’s no video ... and we end up with a sergeant who has his reputation dragged through the mud.”

Leandry, 38, was charged with possession of stolen property and issued a desk appearance ticket. He is due in court Jan. 15.

The NYPD had no comment. It did not notify the media of the incident as it typically does when an officer is arrested.

Leandry could not be reached for comment, but Rafael Quinones, a friend of the family, says Leandry regularly visits his mother in Harlem.

“Anybody who comes to visit his mom every day is a nice person,” said Quinones, 65.

Given his position in Internal Affairs, Leandry might have known better than to buy an Apple phone on the street at such a low cost.

But his lawyer said cheap iPhones are often available when owners upgrade and sell off the now-obsolete model.