Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon admitted late on Saturday night that federal authorities raided his homes only eight days after he assumed the top cop post.
Rumors began swirling earlier that day that yet another high-ranking NYPD official had been the target of a federal investigation. Mayor Eric Adams had tapped Donlon as interim commissioner on Sept. 12 following the resignation of his predecessor, Edward Caban, over his ties to an impending federal investigation.
In a stunning late-night announcement from the NYPD, released just after 7 p.m. on Sept. 21, Donlon — a former FBI agent and homeland security expert — said his homes had been raided on Sept. 20 for reasons which have nothing to do with his work at the NYPD.
“On Friday, Sept. 20, federal authorities executed search warrants at my residences. They took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department,” the statement read.
The news dealt yet another embarrassing blow to the NYPD and City Hall, which have found a number of their respective members as targets of several simultaneous and apparently escalating federal investigations.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, federal officers were advised that Donlon may have retained sensitive documents from his tenure in the agency. This investigation is not believed to be connected to the NYPD or the ongoing probes involving other members of the Adams administration.
“This is not a department matter, and the department will not be commenting,” Donlon added in his Sept. 21 statement.
The Donlon search came exactly a week after he was sworn into office in a behind-closed-doors ceremony at 1 Police Plaza. He replaced Caban, who stepped down a week after he had his phone seized by investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, which is investigating whether Caban and his twin brother, James Caban, allegedly misused police resources in investigating and resolving nightclub code violations.
Donlon is Mayor Adams’ third police commissioner in 2 1/2 years. Last week, several anonymous NYPD insiders criticized Adams for burning through his top cops, calling it “embarrassing.”
“As we have repeatedly said, we expect all team members to fully comply with any law enforcement inquiry,” Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said in a statement sent to amNewYork Metro Sunday morning.
No charges have been filed against Donlon. The FBI and the NYPD have not commented on the Donlon raid.
