January 17, 2008 -- A Queens cop and several other city employees were busted for insurance fraud in a chop-shop scam, authorities said yesterday.

Officer Shantell McKinnies, 27, assigned to the 102nd Precinct, was one of 61 car owners busted in an undercover sting conducted by the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney's Office.

McKinnies and the other vehicle owners would pay a middleman a small fee to take their cars to a chop shop to be stripped, a spokesman for DA Richard Brown said.

The owners would then allegedly file false insurance reports and receive a substantial reimbursement.

They didn't realize undercover cops were running the chop shop as part of the 16-month operation.

McKinnies paid the undercover officer $12,000 to dispose of her car and received $26,000 from her insurance company, authorities said.

In addition to McKinnies, a city buildings inspector, a school safety officer, the security director of a city-run hospital, and one registered sex offender were also busted.

Charges include grand larceny, falsifying business records, and insurance fraud, authorities said.

Several of those arrested made court appearances last night, with other arraignments scheduled for today.

McKinnies, who lives in Queens, has been suspended, police said.