Former MTA cop gets probation for disability fraud

A former MTA cop who was busted for going on disability while thrashing around on tour with a punk rock band was spared a jail term by a merciful judge Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.

Christopher Inserra, 32, claimed to be unable to work after suffering an arm injury while on duty at the World Trade Center site in 2010.

But investigators found that he was able to rock out on stage with his band “Cousin Sleaze” during tours across the Northeast for roughly 20 months despite the phantom ailment.

Inserra leaves Brooklyn Federal Court in April after pleading guilty to fraud.Photo: Kristy Leibowitz

The clumsy conman even posted Youtube videos of his vigorous performances online.

Inserra was charged with fraud and pleaded guilty to the scam in April.

“My name is soiled and my name is diminished,” Inserra wrote in a statement read by his attorney Michelle Gelernt Wednesday.

The married rocker said he had put his family through intense emotional and financial hardship through his actions and that he was now trying to pick up the pieces.

“Not a day does by where I don’t tell them I’m sorry for what I put them through,” his statement read as his wife sobbed in the court gallery.

Gelernt told the court that a prescription pill addiction clouded her client’s judgment.

Federal prosecutor Robert Capers lobbied for a prison term for Inserra and argued that he had stained his badge and oath of public service.

“He betrayed that and his brothers and sisters in the police department,” Capers said. “He milked the system as a member of law enforcement.”

Judge Leo Glasser revealed he couldn’t sleep last night as he agonized over the proper punishment for Inserra’s actions.

“This is a case of pure greed and it’s difficult to understand what prompted that,” Glasser said. “He knew what he was doing was wrong – to put it bluntly, stealing.”

Glasser noted that the college graduate had no prior convictions and was well regarded in his Brooklyn community before sentencing him to five years probation.

Inserra – who is now studying to become a veterinary technician – has already paid $ 30,000 in restitution and must cough up an additional $ 39,000 in fines.

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