WHITE PLAINS – Former Police Officer Wayne Peiffer, who patrolled the streets of Brewster for 15 years, was sentenced to 36 months in prison Thursday for his participation in a conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and conspiracy to commit bribery.
U.S. District Court Judge Lahann DeArcy Hall also ordered the 51-year-old Peiffer to pay $5,000 in forfeiture as well as to perform community service during his supervised release for no less than four hours per week for a total of 208 hours of community service to benefit the Village of Brewster.
Peiffer, a resident of Highland in Ulster County, was arrested in December 2021 by the FBI on charges that he protected a sex trafficking operation in exchange for sex with women, sometimes at the village’s police station.
Peiffer had been indicted by a federal grand jury along with five residents of Queens associated with the Ced-Hernandez sex trafficking organization and Godinez prostitution operation which federal authorities said dated back 20 years.
The former cop was accused of protecting the others who reportedly brought women and teenaged girls from Mexico to work in prostitution throughout the New York metropolitan area including Brewster.
Court records indicated Peiffer safeguarded the alleged sex traffickers for more than eight years giving them advanced warning of police operations while “intervening to prevent their arrests.”
In court, Peiffer told Judge Cheryl Pollak, “I knowingly agreed with others to accept sexual services from a number of individuals whose consent was induced under the color of official right because I was a police officer.”
Peiffer had faced up to 20 years in prison. Prior to his plea bargain, Peiffer had originally been charged with extortion, conspiracy, conspiracy to use an interstate facility to promote prostitution and commit bribery, and use of an interstate facility to promote prostitution.
