Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the guilty plea Tuesday of David Olivari, a state corrections officer, on charges of Criminal Impersonation in the First Degree.
Olivari, 38, was arrested Feb. 8 in Commack after a sting operation conducted by
the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. On that
date, Olivari arrived for what he thought was a meeting with one of the women he had previously pulled over, but was arrested.
According to the investigation, between Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 Olivari, of Coram, used a flashing light in his personal vehicle to pull over cars driven by unaccompanied women in central Suffolk County. In each instance, the defendant falsely identified himself as a police officer, had the women unlock their cellphones, and asked the women to hand their unlocked cellphones over to him.
In one case, Olivari contacted the victim through the cellphone number he obtained
during the illegal stop and he attempted to initiate a personal relationship with her. The
woman reported this to police who then partnered with the District Attorney’s Office to set up a
sting operation that ultimately resulted in Olivari appearing for a “date” with the woman. Olivari
was then arrested. He was then fired by the New York State Corrections Department and Community Supervision.
Following his plea, Olivari was released on his own recognizance. He is being represented by
Michael Brown, and is due back in court for sentencing before Judge Richard
Horowitz on Sept 5, 2023.
“This defendant repeatedly endangered Suffolk County motorists by conducting traffic stops for
which he had neither authority, nor training. The message here is that no one is above the law,
including a corrections officer who acted so egregiously outside of his official duties in attempting
to prey upon otherwise unsuspecting female motorists,” Tierney said.