Head of NYPD security for ex-Mayor de Blasio Howard Redmond to surrender on charges in Manhattan DA’s obstruction probe

The head of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s police security detail, Howard Redmond, is expected to turn himself in at Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday on charges stemming from a probe into his efforts to stifle a city investigation into the ex-mayor’s misuse of his detail, the Daily News has learned.

Redmond, a former NYPD inspector, is expected to be arraigned on criminal charges at 2:15 p.m. after surrendering to the Manhattan district attorney’s office, according to three sources familiar with the arrangements. The charges are not yet public.

The News reported late Monday that the NYPD fired Redmond after his July 11 suspension, with the department confirming he had been “dismissed” without further details.

The NYPD did not immediately reply to inquiries regarding Redmond’s upcoming court appearance. Redmond could not be reached. His lawyer declined to comment.

A spokesman for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg declined to confirm or comment. Ken Frydman, a Captains Endowment Association representative, declined to comment.

The case brings to a head the DA probe prompted by a referral from the city Department of Investigation almost two years ago for Redmond’s potential prosecution.

DOI investigators found de Blasio misused his detail for personal and political purposes, including his ill-fated 2019 presidential campaign run. He took the detail on 31 campaign trips, including to states like Iowa and South Carolina, between May and September 2019, costing taxpayers a mint — nearly $320,000.

“It’s not security,” then-DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said in October 2021. “It’s essentially a concierge service.”

The report by the DOI found Redmond took extraordinary steps to obstruct its probe, including deleting text messages and giving less-than-credible answers to investigators.

In recent months, Bragg’s prosecutors interviewed several current and former detectives assigned to the detail, The News reported. Prosecutors have also interviewed Redmond.

In June, the city Conflicts of Interest Board fined de Blasio $475,000, encompassing the tab from his doomed cross-country trip campaigning for the presidency and $155,000 in fines. The board said it marked the largest fine it’s ever levied.

In a three-page decision, COIB chairman Milton Williams said de Blasio had “plainly” violated city ethics laws barring public servants from using city resources for any non-city purpose.

De Blasio filed suit against the watchdog agency within hours of the fine’s announcement, arguing it was “beyond the scope” of COIB’s powers.

On Aug. 7, lawyers in the case agreed to a schedule of legal motions that will likely extend into 2024, court records show. COIB has agreed as part of the stipulation not to seek enforcement of the fine until the dispute is resolved.

De Blasio, who described Redmond in 2021 as “an incredibly devoted public servant, a person of real integrity,” did not immediately return requests seeking comment, nor did his lawyers. The ex-mayor has remained mum about the investigation into his former security chief.

Redmond, a cop for 30 years, made $230,000 last year as an NYPD inspector in the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

By Tuesday, his name had already been scrubbed from the NYPD personnel database.