An ex-police officer who admitted to stealing and selling police-issued guns to fund a drug habit is sentenced to more than 15 years behind bars.
Nicholas Mina, who served with the New York City Police Department for more than three years, pleaded guilty last month to several charges, including grand larceny, criminal sale of a firearm and conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Mina stole guns from lockers at the 9th Precinct station house in the East Village before his arrest in July.
In his guilty plea, Mina said he sold the guns to a drug dealer to help pay for a painkiller addiction.
The NYPD's Firearms Investigation Unit monitored those sales, tracing them back to Mina.
Two other men, Ivan Chavez and Marcos Echevarria, pleaded guilty in September to buying the guns and reselling them on the black market.
Two other suspects are awaiting trial for their alleged roles in the trafficking scheme.
Mina will face five years of supervision once he's released.