Former NYPD officer pleads guilty to sharing confidential information with gang member boyfriend

NEW YORK — A disgraced former NYPD officer pleaded guilty to providing confidential police information to her boyfriend, who was the head of a deadly gang in the Bronx, prosecutors said. The information given allowed him to allegedly intimidate a witness and avoid arrest while he was wanted for murder.

Gina Mestre admitted to providing information to the gang, the Shooting Boys, about a key witness against him, said Damian Williams, federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. The gang members then used that information to allegedly attack and intimidate the witness, preventing him from further cooperating with police.

Mestre, 33, also helped her boyfriend evade police, according to prosecutors, by telling him he was wanted for the murder of a rival gang member. That information gave the boyfriend enough time to flee the country in an effort to avoid arrest.

The Mohegan Lake resident was an NYPD officer from July 2013 to May 2022, in the public safety unit of the 52nd precinct in the Bronx. During June 2020, the unit focused on reducing gun violence in the area. That’s when Mestre started talking to Andrew Done, the leader of the gang. Shooting Boys that was responsible for much of the violence the unit sought to eradicate in the University Heights neighborhood, prosecutors said.

The pair soon began an intimate relationship, during which time Mestre provided confidential police information about a federal grand jury investigation into the gang, including a warning that authorities were preparing to file a federal indictment, Williams alleged. He also briefed the gang on police operations at the time, allowing them to conceal their alleged drug dealing and other criminal activities.

In November 2020, Done shot and killed a rival gang member while sitting in his car in the Bronx, and the shooting was captured on security camera video. As police worked to identify and catch Done, also known as Caballo, Mestre was one of the officers who helped with the case, Williams said. She secretly told her boyfriend that the police had been looking for him and sent her a copy of the video showing him carrying out the fatal shooting, showing that the police had plenty of evidence to make their case.

In the days and weeks after the murder, the information Mestre provided to Done helped him elude authorities and ultimately flee the country. She was aware of phone numbers law enforcement could use to track Done, so the duo used other cell phones to discreetly communicate.

Months later, in March 2022, 10 members of the gang were charged in a 15-count indictment with various federal crimes, including racketeering conspiracy and murder. Done was charged with the murder of a rival gang member and months later was captured by police in the Dominican Republic.

In November 2022, Done pleaded guilty to the two charges he faced. Currently, he is serving 35 years in prison.

At his March 2024 sentencing, Mestre could receive up to 15 years in prison. Attorney information was not immediately available.