They traded their NYPD badges for knockoff Coach handbags and discounted sports jerseys, authorities said.
Four Manhattan cops were arrested and charged yesterday with accepting bribes in a Chelsea kickback scheme. A fifth officer was arrested last week.

"It's very sad," Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said. "These officers destroyed their careers for really very little."

The five cops, all from Manhattan's 13th Precinct, were accused of tipping off a street peddler about when the NYPD was going to execute search warrants on warehouses packed with counterfeit goods.

The cops got free merchandise - belts, bags, hats and sports jerseys - in exchange for the information, Morgenthau said.

The officers also were charged with pushing competitors out of the peddler's sales area near W. 27th St. and Broadway, and allowing one of the peddler's pals to slide on an arrest.

The cops arrested yesterday were: Detective Brian Bartlett, 37; Detective Rodney Lewis, 40; Officer George Santiago, 38; and Officer Jaime Albertelli, 31. Officer Jashua Penalo, 32, was arrested last week.

All were charged with taking a bribe and receiving an award for official misconduct, both felonies, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor.

The peddler involved in the scheme, Jamil Faied, was arrested last Thursday. Morgenthau said the investigation into the 13th Precinct was continuing, but officials did not believe the problem has spread to other stationhouses.