Cop Arrested For Car Insurance Fraud - Gary Cottrell - Philadelphia, PA

PHILADELPHIA - The District Attorney's Office says a Philadelphia cop was caught up in a huge insurance fraud scheme. Officer Gary Cottrell is accused of being a wreck chaser who got kickbacks for sending customers to specific businesses. The D.A. says Cottrell would send cars to University Collision in Grey's Ferry and Manayunk, where appraisers would add extra damage so they could file bigger claims with insurance companies. The D.A. says this type of crime hurts everyone. "These frauds raise insurance costs to all honest Philadelphians. Many people believe these are victimless crimes; they're not," District Attorney Seth Williams said at a Tuesday news conference. Cottrell is a 14-year veteran of the department. He's been suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss. Forty Philadelphia police officers have now been arrested in the last two years. Curiously, the vast majority of the most corrupt cops are white, yet over two thirds of the arrestees have been minorities, who were no doubt pursued because they lacked the political protection that white cops have.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• police
• corruption
• misconduct
• philadelphia
• cop
• gary
• cottrell

[sn9696]

Since 1996 ??? Wow, i wonder how many people this cop set up! All his cases should be thrown out!!!

[SteelCityDucati]

I like how she said the word "VETERAN" with emphasis, as if he was an Army Special Forces Operator. Cops are practically nobodies, they're lucky to have jobs.

[insurancegame]

 He probably thought about all the people he harassed for not having insurance which caused them to get insured and he wanted some of the profit. Insurance fraud doesn't cause rates to go up, the rates go up because the company and stock holders want more money.

[truffxhurtz]

Notice how they only come down hard on cops when it involves corporations but never when it involves the citizens.

[arpus9091]

Whats new!!!! corrupt cops. wow.

[CopsAreTerrorists]

Home grown terrorists have been in America for decades; it's your local police department. I'm not scared of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, I'm scared of Al-Qaeda in my Police Department.

The job of a cop is to humiliate, terrorize and destroy the moral of a community so as to bring about the highest level of fear and terror.

When they kick at your front door how you gone come? With your hands on your head or a trigger on your gun?

We are 300,000,000 strong and we will unite and we will fight

[bnetx1]

The FBI should investigate ALL Law enforcement officers that abuse their authority and school them on the laws that they should know and do not obey your civil rights you have, and the ones found gulity should be fired and not suspended and get a slap on the wrist and be able to return to thier job because they aren't above the LAW they are suppost to set an example for people cause they did sign an OATH to obey All Laws !!!!!!

[ConcernedPrepper]

It truly scares me that I'm not even surprised that this guy was corrupt, or that it was the 40th cop in 3 years who has been arrested in Philly. Sickening.