By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-28 16:35:19 | Updated at 2024-12-29 07:02:49
14 hours ago
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch ousted dozens of NYPD bosses in a shocking Saturday purge, beginning with the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, a week after The Post revealed that top cop Jeffrey Maddrey was allegedly trading overtime for sex at police headquarters.
Deputy Chief Chris Morello, the No. 2 boss at the famed watchdog bureau whose mission is to weed out bad cops, was removed from his post, paperwork obtained by The Post shows.
This comes a week after IAB’s top boss, Chief of Internal Affairs Miguel Iglesias, was ejected the day of the Dec. 21 expose in The Post.
Inspector Joseph Profeta, who was head of IAB’s Group 1, was booted Saturday to Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, the documents show. The group investigates allegations regarding NYPD brass with the rank of captain or above.
“Tisch means business,” a high-ranking source said. “She’s cleaning up the mess and putting the department back on track.”
The moves were made because of a “lack of oversight” by IAB, the source said.
Inspector Michael Ricciardi of IAB Special Ops was also ousted and sent to Patrol Borough Manhattan North, the orders show.
Another dozen IAB bosses, ranging from lieutenants to sergeants, were sent packing to far-flung precincts across the city, the documents show.
Six members of Maddrey’s office — five detectives and one police officer — were also booted in the bloodletting, most of them sent to walk the beat in public housing, the documents show.
The sweeping changes come after The Post revealed in a Sunday front-page story that Chief of Department Maddrey was allegedly granting overtime for sex to Lt. Quathisha Epps, who raked in a total of more than $400,000 in 2024.
“If you want to show that you are genuinely trying to change the face of the department and get rid of all of Maddrey’s cronies, this is the best way to do it,” a police officer with more than 20 years on the job said.
Epps claimed in graphic detail in an exclusive interview with The Post that Maddrey, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the NYPD, coerced her to have sex in his office between eight and 10 times, in exchange for the massive overtime.
Her lawyer, Eric Sanders, filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, a precursor to a lawsuit.
Maddrey abruptly retired the day of The Post report.
He claimed through his lawyer on Friday that he had a “consensual, adult relationship” with Epps, but denied her accusation of “coercion.” The lawyer, Lambros Lambrou, said Maddrey had no authority to sign off on overtime pay.
In response, Epps’ attorney told The Post, “This clown is a f–king disgrace. We have a treasure trove of digital data that will hopefully bring this degenerate to justice.”
