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Federal Raid of Interim NYPD Commissioner Just Days After Taking Position Suggests ‘It’s Open Season on Adams’
By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The home of New York City’s new interim police commissioner was raided just days after taking the job, raising eyebrows about the nature of the investigations surrounding Mayor Eric Adams’s administration officials, as reported by the NY Post.
On Saturday night, Interim commissioner Thomas Donlon said in a statement that federal authorities had taken from him “materials that came into my possession 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department”. Just a week earlier, the former police commissioner Edward Caban had resigned after federal investigators had raided his home, along with other close allies and members of the Adam’s administration. Per the Post, Sources said agents were looking for classified documents Donlon may have brought home during his years with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
A raid on the home of the Big Apple’s interim police commissioner has raised eyebrows – coming just days after he took the job and as investigations swirl around Adams administration officials, The Post has learned.
Interim commissioner Thomas Donlon said in a Saturday night… pic.twitter.com/GWKRkkYzgg
— Qᴀɢɢ.ɴᴇᴡꜱ (@qaggnews) September 23, 2024
That explanation, however, seems to have holes leading law enforcement officers to wonder what’s going on. “The same federal agencies that ‘recommended’ Donlon to Adams also executed the warrant — less than a week after Donlon’s appointment — to search his house for 20-year-old documents,” one source for the Post said, noting that Southern District of New York head Damian Williams had backed Mayor Adams’ commissioner choice before the announcement. The source added that Donlon “clearly pissed off the wrong people at the FBI,” which led the investigators to throw “another grenade in Adams’ lap and pull the [pin].” “Donlon was collateral damage,” the source said. “I can hear the agents laughing while they’re torturing the mayor,” the source added. “It’s open season on Adams at the SDNY and FBI.”
Federal authorities raided the home of NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon, just over a week after his predecessor, Edward Caban, resigned following an FBI raid at his residence.#NYPD #ThomasDonlon #EdwardCaban #FBI #Raid #BreakingNews #LawEnforcement #NewYork… pic.twitter.com/ybdPxPDUPZ
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) September 22, 2024
On Sept. 12, Adams appointed Donlon, an NYPD outsider, to take over as the city’s interim commissioner—as Caban abruptly stepped down. Federal agents had seized Caban’s electronic devices as part of a sweeping “corruption probe” into potential influence peddling. That raid had also targeted First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, Schools Chancellor David Banks and their brother Terence Banks, as well as former NYPD official Tim Pearson. None of them have been accused of any crimes and it’s not yet clear if the investigations are even linked, the Post reported.
When Donlon was tapped for the commish job, he was retired from federal service and was running a private security company. The appointment as NY’s top cop pulled him back into the public eye. On Sunday, Donlon refused to answer the Post’s questions about the raid.
Per the Post, some sources claimed the raid was simply part of a vetting process for renewed clearances — rather than any accusation of criminality. Others, however, say this was the feds’ way of showing Adams that nobody in his circle is safe. “They don’t search your house when they do security clearance,” said Joseph Pistone, the legendary FBI agent also known as “Donnie Brasco” who infiltrated the Mafia in the 70s and 80s. “If I were doing a background ingestion on Tom, I’d say he’s straightforward and loves his country,” said Pistone. “I’m flabbergasted. He’s been out of the bureau for 15 years, and look at all the positions he’s had,” he continued. “I don’t have enough good things to say about the guy.” “And now he gets appointed police commissioner, and a week later he gets his house searched,” Pistone added. “I have no idea why they would do a search at his house. It’s nuts.”
Mark Carroll, a former assistant US attorney and retired FBI agent, also spoke out, called Donlon an “upstanding member of the law enforcement community”. “That makes no sense,” Carroll said. “I have no good way to explain it.” “It would absolutely shock me if he did anything wrong,” he said of Donlon.
