New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban speaks during the first quarter crime briefing press conference Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in Manhattan, New York City.
Barry Williams | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban announced Thursday he is resigning from his post helming the country’s largest police department amid a federal investigation into its nightclub enforcement, according to an internal memo obtained by News 4.
It wasn’t immediately clear from the memo when the resignation would take effect. It means Mayor Eric Adams will be looking at his third police commissioner in less than three years.
“The news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department, and I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” the email said in part. “I hold immense respect and gratitude for the brave officers who serve this department, and the NYPD deserves someone who can solely focus on protecting and serving New York City, which is why – for the good of this city and this department – I have made the difficult decision to resign as Police Commissioner.”
Adams is expected to hold a noon briefing from Gracie Mansion.
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The development comes days after News 4 reported the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division had joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in the inquiry.
Quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Adams declined to say whether he still had confidence in Caban, whom he appointed as the NYPD’s 46th commissioner in July 2023. A 33-year department veteran, he was the first Latino to serve as commissioner of the NYPD in its 179-year history.
Adams also declined to say earlier in the week whether Caban had been barred from communicating with federal law enforcement agencies, which work in close cooperation with the NYPD.
At least one phone belonging to Caban was among several the SDNY and IRS seized from multiple NYPD officials, His twin brother, who owns a nightclub security business, also had his phone seized in the corruption investigation.
Several sources tell NBC New York federal investigators want to know if James Caban profited from his ties to his powerful brother and the NYPD. Specifically, the investigation is looking into whether James Caban was paid by bars and clubs in Midtown and Queens to act as a police liaison, and if those clubs were then afforded special treatment by local precincts, the sources said.
Other questions being investigated are if officers were asked to crack down harder on clubs that did not do business with the commissioner’s brother or if promotions were given to officers who played along with the potential scheme, according to sources.
An NYPD spokesperson has said the department is aware of and fully cooperating in the investigation.
No one has been charged.
News 4 left several messages for James Caban on his phone and with a family member upon the initial report of the investigation. They were not returned.