They’re real-life “get out of jail free” cards — but they’ll cost you.
Shady sellers with cop connections are making a tidy profit hawking police union cards — traditionally distributed free by cops to family and friends — for as much as $100 each on eBay.
The sale of the coveted courtesy cards — glossy plastic the size of credit cards, and often used by motorists to get out of parking and traffic tickets — is prohibited by the police unions.
But a Post reporter last week was able to order three newly issued 2010 cards from sellers connected to three different police unions.
One trader identified online as “bklynnancy” sold a Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association card for $100. It was sent by mail, and the return address on the envelope named a Nancy McEntee from Brooklyn. The union said it had no member by that name.
“Jimpat99” on eBay auctioned his PBA card for $60.
Another peddler sold a Detectives Endowment Association card for $15 and offered a bulk rate for 50 cards.
“If you are looking to pick up a bunch I can give you a better price,” said the seller, who identified himself in an e-mail as Thomas Sobe.
Sobe, whom the detectives union said is not a detective, claimed he got the valuable cards from “someone else.”
Another seller auctioned off more than 30 PBA cards for around $20 each over the past month, according to an eBay profile.
Union delegates generally give members two cards and mail them to retirees as well. Cops can usually purchase additional cards for $1 each.
Having the card marks you as a friend to the force, and can be used to get out of minor jams. Flash the union card to an officer who has stopped you for speeding or is citing you for illegally parking, and the cop will forgo the ticket and let you off with a warning and wink. Police unions long encouraged their members to honor the cards when presented at a car stop — especially since they are often carried by cops’ relatives.
But selling the cards to strangers is forbidden, and the black market has frustrated the unions.
“I spent years trying to guilt people into stopping because it’s just offensive to the membership,” said detectives union spokeswoman Sam Katz.
It’s legal to resell the cards because they are not officially police IDs. But the PBA regularly threatens to take legal action against sellers.
The sellers claim the cards are “collectibles.”
Critics see the widespread commercial distributions as a safety issue, however.
“Selling the courtesy to the highest bidder is wrong and probably should be illegal,” said City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), chairman of the public safety committee, who admits he has been given union cards by friends on the force.