An NYPD cop had an extra buck in his pocket after buying tickets for the historic $1.6 billion Powerball drawing in January so he plunked it down for a Mega-Millions quick pick — and about 6 months later, he dispatched his wife to collect a giant check for about $65 million.
Vito Viola, a sergeant in the 120th precinct who has been on the force since 2005, was just following orders — from his wife — when he picked up the Powerball tickets.
But on on his drive back to their Westerleigh home, he realized he had a spare $1 so Viola swung by the Willowbrook Deli for an extra ticket, a quick pick Mega Millions with the numbers 11, 39, 51, 57, 75 and a Mega Ball 2.
The next morning, it proved to be the best buck he ever spent.
“I think I almost had a heart attack,” his wife, Nancy, said Thursday as she recalled the moment she figured out that they had won.
“I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I asked my husband to come over to look. He just kept looking at the screen three or four times and he was in shock,” the 37-year-old housewife added.
They accepted a lump-sum payment of $64,796,160 after taxes and withholding — a few tax brackets up from Viola’s annual salary of $117,000.
Up until Thursday, the Violas had kept their newfound fortune a secret, though he stopped reporting to work starting in February, according to law enforcement sources.
