People ask me why I would never let my family go to Mexico

Mexican cops rob Finest in Cancun
By LARRY CELONA (NY POST)

Last Updated: 2:42 AM, April 24, 2012

A former NYPD detective says he was robbed by Mexican cops in Cancun.

Daniel Sprague, 42, of Staten Island, a retired member of the elite Emergency Service Unit, said he was at a timeshare with his wife and three young children earlier this month when he confronted a woman taking an unusual number of pictures of his kids swimming.

Security was called but the guards did nothing, he said.

Later, Sprague’s wife spotted the woman in an elevator and took a picture of her. Sprague said the woman then punched his wife in front of their children.

After Sprague interceded, the stranger accused him of hitting her.

Local cops took him into custody, but instead of taking him to a station house, they drove him around in circles, telling him how much trouble he was in and what it would take to make it go away.

“I was a cop in the worst neighborhoods, and I always came home,” Sprague said.

Now, he said, “I’m on vacation, and I’m wondering if I’m ever going to see my kids again.”

The Mexican officers knew he was a retired NYPD officer, he said, but couldn’t have cared less.

Sprague said he gave the cops $500 and was taken back to his hotel, only to be squeezed later by different cops who insisted the woman wanted to press charges. He had to give them another $1,000.

“When I was on the job, I never took anything from anybody.” Sprague said. “Here, everybody was taking my money.”

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