State troopers on Hochul’s NYC security detail probed over falsified time sheet allegations
ALBANY — State troopers assigned to Gov. Hochul’s New York City security detail are being probed for allegedly falsifying time sheets and not showing up for assigned shifts.
A spokesman for the New York State Police confirmed that there is an ongoing administrative investigation into “time and attendance issues” involving former members of the governor’s Protective Services Unit.
“Integrity is one of our core values, and we thoroughly investigate any claims of wrongdoing,” State Police spokesman Beau Duffy said late Monday. “If our investigation determines that our policies were violated, the State Police will take appropriate disciplinary action.”
The troopers under investigation were uniformed members assigned to the governor’s Manhattan office working desk security posts and are no longer serving on the detail.
According to a candidate interview form, PSU members “serve at the discretion of the superintendent and are subject to reassignment at any time if the superintendent deems it to be in the best interest of the division.”
The probe comes six months after a damning report found State Police failed to follow proper procedures when investigating and disciplining a trooper who had a romantic relationship with one of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s daughters.
State Inspector General Lucy Lang’s office found police officials dropped the ball after being informed in May 2020 that Trooper Dane Pfeiffer was dating Cara Kennedy-Cuomo while assigned to the ex-governor’s protective detail.
Documents related to the investigative steps taken in response to the complaint were not completed and records were not maintained, Lang’s office determined.
The report targeted former State Police Superintendent Kevin Bruen’s decision to forgo formal punishment for Pfeiffer, instead allowing him to be reassigned, and punishing a supervisor who knew of the dalliance while failing to inform the IG’s office about the incident.
Bruen and others involved in the investigation determined that Pfeiffer needed to be transferred and no “additional investigative steps to either corroborate or discredit Pfeiffer’s or his supervisor’s accounts of the matter” were conducted, per the report.
Bruen resigned suddenly last fall in the wake of separate allegations he helped shield a former human resources official from internal complaints.
According to reports, Bruen allegedly protected since-retired Human Resources Director MaryEllen Tedesco from internal complaints and potential discipline related to how she handled an application by a person with a wheelchair.
Hochul named Steven Nigrelli, a 32-year veteran of the New York State Police, as acting superintendent of the department in October.
The governor’s office, which had been investigating Bruen, said Hochul is aware of the latest accusations related to her Big Apple-based security detail.
“We take any allegation of misconduct very seriously, and there must be accountability for any violation of the public’s trust,” Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said in a statement.
The union representing thousands of troopers across the state is also in hot water as the Albany Times Union reported the group is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation into its financial dealings.
According to the newspaper, the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association is being probed by the FBI for paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to individuals or companies connected to the union or its charity arm, the Signal 30 Benefit Fund.
Last month, the State Police Special Investigations Unit executed search warrants at the union’s Albany headquarters and the offices of the Signal 30 Benefit Fund, the Times Union reported.
The search took place as Hochul delivered her State of the State address blocks away at the State Capitol.
A representative of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association Board of Directors said it would be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing investigation into troopers assigned to Hochul’s city office.
The governor has championed the work of the State Police and set aside millions in her state budget proposal to boost the ranks of the department and expand localized units.
Under her plan, which needs to be negotiated with the Legislature ahead of the state’s April 1 fiscal deadline, Hochul wants the State Police to run four police academies per year instead of two.
The proposal also includes $25.9 million for State Police Community Stabilization Units, which provide assistance and resources to local police agencies dealing with surges in crime.
“We are not defunding police, we are really ramping up funding for the police; that era is over,” Hochul said at an Albany event late last month.
