A convicted murderer who fatally shot an off-duty NYPD officer during a robbery in the Bronx more than 40 years ago will soon be released on parole — the 42nd cop killer in the state granted their freedom in seven years.
Jose Curet, who gunned down Officer George Werdann on Feb. 21, 1982, will be sprung from Fishkill Correctional Facility after the Parole Board decided in favor of his release earlier this month, state records show.
Retired NYPD Lt. Donald Pagani was a childhood friend of the murdered 23-year-old and attended 16 hearings to try to convince the board to keep Curet, now 62, behind bars.
“Our primary mission was to make sure that he was in jail for as long as Georgie’s father was alive,” Pagani, 64, told The Post. “Our second goal was that he stayed in prison until he died.”
Werdann was off duty when he spotted Curet, then 19, and his 17-year-old brother Roberto running from a Bronx grocery store after a Feb. 21, 1982 robbery.
The young cop gave chase, following the brothers in his personal car down as they ran down Valentine Ave.
He didn’t know Curet was crouching behind a car with a gun as he drove by, taking three shots.
“As the car went by, Jose steps out behind the car and fires,” Pagani said. “The third shot hit Georgie in the back of the head.”
The two brothers were arrested six weeks later in Puerto Rico, where their mom lived. They were pictured in The Post smiling as they shared a meal after their arrest.
Jose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life. Roberto pleaded guilty to robbery and served more than 20 years because of alleged contraband infractions in prison, state records show.
Of the 42 cop killers released in the state since 2017, 38 murdered officers from the NYPD.
Changed rules for the 17-member parole board, along with an increasingly left-wing slant of its members, are responsible for the surge in freed cop killers, a law enforcement source said.
The board, whose members are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, now gives more weight to factors such as an inmate’s age and record in prison.
The decision to free Curet is yet another “shameful insult” to cops, said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry.
“There needs to be a complete restructuring of the current Parole Board to replace the progressive activists who are looking for any excuse to release these violent cop-killers,” the police union head said. “We need parole commissioners who will prioritize the pain of the victims of these heinous crimes and keep these menaces to society where they belong – in prison for the rest of their lives.”
Pagani and Werdann grew up in Norwood in the Bronx, near the NYPD’s 52 Precinct on Webster Avenue and Mosholu Parkway – the same precinct where Werdann was killed. PS/MS 20 P.O. George J. Werdann III was named after him.
The two friends would often watch the police in awe.
“We would sit up at the top there on the bridge and watch them when they did the platoon change,” said Pagani, who retired after 35 years on the job.
“Back then, they actually did it formal where they marched out with the batons and we thought that was the greatest thing in the world.”