Fifth police commander reassigned in N.Y. City corruption probe
By Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fifth high-ranking New York City police officer has been reassigned in an unfolding federal investigation into whether officers accepted trips and gifts from businessmen with ties to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner William Bratton said on Wednesday.
The New York City Police Department said that Deputy Chief Andrew Capul, head of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, had been transferred to an administrative post in connection with the ongoing investigation.
Roy Richter, president of the union that represents high-ranking officers, said he was confident that Capul was not a target in the probe, and said the deputy chief had cooperated.
Four other commanders were transferred last Thursday, based on what Bratton said was information developed in the investigation.
The probe is examining whether police officers received gifts and travel from businessmen in exchange for unspecified favors, and has centered on two businessmen, Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg, said a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Rechnitz contributed to de Blasio's mayoral campaign, while Reichberg helped raise money for a nonprofit controlled by de Blasio advisers to support the mayor's agenda. Both men served on de Blasio's inaugural committee in 2013.
The investigation has included former Chief of Department Phillip Banks, once the police department's highest-ranking uniformed officer, and Norman Seabrook, head of the correction officers union, the source said.
Banks earned $250,000 to $500,000 from unspecified investments from JSR Capital Inc, Rechnitz's real estate firm, according to a financial disclosure report Banks filed in 2014.
Rechnitz's lawyer has declined to comment. Reichberg could not be reached for comment. Banks' lawyer has denied any wrongdoing, while Seabrook has declined to comment.
At a news conference on Monday, de Blasio said he was unaware of any investigation into his campaign fundraising and denied any potential improprieties.
"We comport ourselves with the highest standard of integrity," he said. "Everything we've done in my administration has been open and transparent."
Dan Levitan, a spokesman for de Blasio's 2017 re-election campaign, has said the "campaign has conducted itself legally and appropriately at all times." The campaign is returning 2013 contributions made by Rechnitz.
The investigation led on Friday to the arrest of a former restaurant owner, Hamlet Peralta, for running a $12 million Ponzi scheme. The source said the case was linked to the probe, though court documents do not specify how.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)
