Federal authorities indicted two Oakland police officers assigned to the department’s helicopter unit Thursday, accusing the officers of falsifying aircraft registration certifications and engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration.
The officers, David Mac and Brandon Mart, were arraigned in a federal courthouse Thursday in Oakland, the East Bay Times first reported. Both officers pleaded not guilty to FAA certification fraud and conspiracy charges. Mart was also charged with falsifying records.
Federal prosecutors also charged William Miller, then an FAA aviation safety inspector, with conspiracy and FAA certification fraud, describing him as the linchpin in the plot who made it possible for the officers to fake flights and subsequently obtain extra FAA credentials they hadn’t earned…