A Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges nine NYPD supervisors are using department vehicles for personal commutes, avoiding tolls and congestion pricing fees while commuting on the clock, according to the New York Post.
Lt. Joseph Abdelmessih, of Staten Island, filed the whistleblower lawsuit naming fellow officers in the Community Affairs Bureau, who he claims leave their personal cars at police facilities near their homes and use department vehicles to commute after signing in for their shifts, the report said.
Abdelmessih was featured in a February Post exposé detailing how he parked his Mercedes at his Staten Island home and commuted to Manhattan in a department vehicle on job time, avoiding roughly $20,000 in tolls.
Following that report, he was questioned by the Internal Affairs Bureau, charged with improper use of a department vehicle and misuse of time, and transferred to Brooklyn.
The lawsuit filed by lawyer John Scola claims Deputy Chief Richie Taylor gave Abdelmessih permission to use the NYPD car to perform his duties overseeing clergy.
According to the Post, the officers named in the suit include Capt. Jackeline Bodden, who allegedly commuted 18 miles from Harlem to the NYPD Community Center in East New York as a lieutenant before her promotion to captain.
Lt. Anthony Miolan reportedly used a city vehicle to commute about 30 miles each way between Merrick, Long Island, and his duty station. Lt. Duran Mclean allegedly commuted about five miles from his Flatlands home to a Brooklyn community center.
Other officers named are Lt. Sharisse Sanders, Lt. Gesner Charles and Lt. Daniel Schmelter; Sgt. Sesame James; Det. Tanya Duhaney and Det. Tanesha Facey.
According to the suit, the officers receive taxpayer-paid gas and parking benefits and can use police lights and sirens to navigate traffic.
“These are bosses, and they’ve been getting away with murder for the longest time,” a police source told the Post. The source added that officers commute while on the clock, even if trips take hours.
“What work are you doing while you’re commuting?” the source said. “Taxpayers are paying you to do this. It’s a scam.”
The officers named do not have vehicles that are part of the 2,857 city vehicles officially assigned to city employees for take-home use as of 2022, according to city records.
The NYPD has 754 vehicles assigned to top officers and select personnel who are legally permitted to avoid paying for gas and tolls. A police source said the majority of officers use their own cars to commute to work, the Post report said.
The suit seeks punitive damages for discrimination and names the city, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Dawit Fikru, an inspector at the Internal Affairs Bureau, as defendants.