The former commander of Manhattan’s 5th Precinct found himself on the wrong end of a grand jury indictment this week for allegedly covering up his then-girlfriend’s drunk driving after a collision in 2022, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Deputy Inspector Paul Zangrilli, 44, who resides in Rockland County, allegedly allowed his then-companion, Nikole Rupple, 35, to get behind the wheel of his unmarked, NYPD-issued car on the evening of Aug. 16, 2022 — which she subsequently crashed into a livery cab at the corner of 10th Avenue and West 30th Street.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Zangrilli and Rupple had both been drinking for several hours. After Rupple crashed the cruiser, authorities said Zangrilli allegedly lied about the incident, then tried to erase video evidence.
“This alleged behavior was incredibly dangerous, leading to injuries for one cab driver and putting the safety of many other drivers and pedestrians at risk,” Bragg said in a June 13 statement. “Furthermore, this NYPD deputy inspector, then a commanding officer, allegedly went to great lengths to cover up the incident to avoid responsibility.”
Zangrilli, who the NYPD has suspended without pay, faces charges including two counts of falsifying business records in the first degree — the same felony charges of which Donald Trump, the former president, was found guilty of 34 times at trial last month. He was also booked on counts of tampering with physical evidence; offering a false instrument for filing; obstructing governmental administration; official misconduct; and driving while intoxicated and impaired by alcohol.
Prosecutors said that Zangrilli met up with Rupple at the American Whiskey bar near Penn Station at about 5:40 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2022 for a rendezvous. During the three hours they were at the location, Zangrilli had five shots and seven beers, while Rupple downed seven shots and three beers.
Both left the location at about 8:40 p.m. that night, authorities said, and Rupple got behind the wheel of Zangrilli’s NYPD-issued vehicle — with the then-5th Precinct commander riding along in the front passenger seat.
A short time later, prosecutors allege, Rupple rear-ended a livery cab at the corner of West 30th Street and 10th Avenue; the collision damaged the back of the cab, and left the driver with injuries to the back and neck.
Despite the collision, investigators found, Rupple allegedly sped away from the location and pulled over a few blocks later — where she switched seats with Zangrilli, who then drove the vehicle northbound on 10th Avenue.
But at the corner of West 33rd Street and 10th Avenue, authorities said, the cab driver involved in the collision came upon the defendants again, and sought helped from a uniformed officer in a marked police vehicle. Zangrilli began driving away, with both the dab driver and the uniformed officer following; the officer then instructed Zangrilli to pull the car over, which he did.
After the uniformed officer instructed the cab driver to file an accident report with the NYPD, Zangrilli allegedly offered — in the officer’s presence — cash payments of up to $1,000 instead of agreeing to exchange insurance information.
When the victim called 911 to request an accident report, Zangrilli allegedly called a duty captain over, and falsely told the ranking officer that he collided with the cab driver while driving to work. He did not mention that Rupple was with him, or that they had been drinking. That led to ranking NYPD members filing a false report based on the lies Zangrilli allegedly told about the incident.
Later that evening, prosecutors said, Zangrilli arrived back at the 5th Precinct stationhouse in Chinatown with Rupple, signed on for duty and called the American Whiskey bar owner requesting that the security camera footage from inside the establishment be deleted. The bar’s video technician complied with the request.
But the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau had been notified of the incident involving Zangrilli that evening. The deputy inspector allegedly lied about being at his Rockland County home; IAB members visited the location to conduct a “fitness for duty” test only to find that he was not there. Police later located Zangrilli at Rupple’s apartment.
IAB, along with the Manhattan DA’s office, were able to obtain a search warrant for American Whiskey’s video surveillance system, and recovered the deleted footage which showed Zangrilli and Rupple drinking for three hours prior to the crash.
Following the investigation, Zangrilli was suspended from duty without pay pending a departmental trial. He was subsequently transferred from the 5th Precinct to the NYPD Criminal Justice Bureau.
According to 50-a.org, which catalogs reports of alleged police misconduct, Zangrilli had a complaint filed against him in July 2022 for allegedly exercising physical force against an individual. The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) found that he acted within NYPD guidelines.
Three years earlier, in 2019, Zangrilli was the subject of a complaint of allegedly abusing authority and exercising physical force for a Bronx incident. That case was found to be unsubstantiated following a CCRB investigation.
