David Olivari: NY man posed as cop, asked women to pull over and demanded nudes
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: A Long Island man has been arrested after it was found that he allegedly posed as a police officer to pull over women drivers and asked for their nude pictures. David Olivari, who is reportedly training to be a New York State corrections officer, has been put behind bars in the same system he is hired by. Suffolk County police claimed that to carry out his alleged crime, the 37-year-old had fixed dashboard-mounted flashing lights on his 2007 Toyota Prius so that victims would take him as a real cop.
According to Lt Michael Crowley, Olivari stopped at least two women and told them he was doing that because they were using their cell phones while driving. He also allegedly used the situation to take away their phones to “access” them before telling the victims that he was releasing them with a warning.
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However, on Tuesday, February 8, the accused was arrested after he tried to meet one of his victims. He has been charged with criminal impersonation, grand larceny, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, and unauthorized use of a computer. But during an arraignment on Wednesday, February 9, he pleaded not guilty to all charges. For now, Olivari has been released from jail but kept on watch after his defense attorney claimed that his past was clean.
As per reports, legal action against Olivari was taken after one of his victims contacted Suffolk Police and told them about a man driving a small, dark-colored vehicle that has flashing lights. She also claimed that the man pulled her over the Long Island Expressway Service Road in Ronkonkoma on January 22 at around 3 in the morning. The woman added that the accused also took away her phone and noted her number before giving it back to her. And, soon after that, she was reportedly contacted by the same man, who asked her to send nudes of her.
After the first woman’s complaint, another woman — who was driving on Shenandoah Boulevard in Nesconset — came forward with her allegations against Olivari. However, the second one was not asked to send nude photos of herself. On Tuesday, February 8, police set up a meeting between the first woman and the accused following which they detained him.
New York State database states that Olivari has been employed at Washington Correctional Facility in upstate Comstock since August 2021. And, according to his Facebook profile, he is engaged and a dad to a daughter and two sons. At present, he has been put on administrative leave, with termination pending, as probe into the allegations is on, Corrections Department officials added.
Meanwhile, people who have faced a similar situation have been encouraged by officers to contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. The Daily Mail reported that the authorities “also said that anyone who has suspicions about the cop who pulled them over to pull over and have their credentials prepared, but get the officer's name, the precinct he or she works at, their shield number and call 911. Anyone who has experienced a similar situation is also asked to reach out to Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.”