New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James, center, took over the agency in February 2024 and undertook an immediate leadership shakeup as he sought to remake the agency. His administration has endured its own share of scandals.
Will Waldron/Times Union
Former New York state Trooper Christopher Baldner stands to hear the verdict in his murder trial in November in Ulster County Court. He was the first state trooper in New York to be charged with murder as a result of a fatal vehicle pursuit. He was acquitted of all but one manslaughter charge due to the jury deadlocking on that count. His second trial on the manslaughter charge is scheduled for Feb. 17.
Sarah Trafton/Times Union
Former New York State Police PBA President Thomas H. Mungeer, left, sits next to his attorney, Michael P. McDermott, during his arraignment in Albany County Court in October on a felony grand larceny charge.
Will Walrdon / Times Union/Times Union
ALBANY — A leadership shakeup and the arrest of the former president of the union that represents thousands of current and former troopers marked the culmination of another tumultuous year for the State Police, an agency that for several successive administrations has struggled to escape the tarnish of scandal.
One of the more jarring events took place in late October when Thomas H. Mungeer, the former president of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, was arrested and arraigned on a grand larceny charge that accused him of misusing thousands of dollars in funds from the union he headed for more than 13 years. Mungeer, who is scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced next month, had resigned from the agency a month before his arrest.
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It was the culmination of a lengthy investigation by the State Police Special Investigations Unit, which had obtained multiple search warrants in January 2023 that were used to raid the Albany offices of the PBA and the neighboring Signal 30 Benefit Fund, a charity organization formed by the PBA’s former leaders more than two decades ago. A third search warrant was used to seize Mungeer’s mobile phone.
But the prosecution of Mungeer has left many current and former troopers unsatisfied with the outcome of what they privately contend was a larger scandal involving more participants in alleged misconduct and the abuse of union funds and business dealings.
A month after Mungeer’s arrest, Christopher G. Baldner, who was the first state trooper in New York to be charged with murder in connection with a vehicle pursuit, was found not guilty of second-degree murder and six lesser charges of reckless endangerment by an Ulster County jury.
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The jury deadlocked on a final count of manslaughter, and an Ulster County judge has scheduled a new trial for Baldner on that charge that will begin Feb. 17.
The partial verdict followed a three-week trial that focused on Baldner’s actions five years ago when an 11-year-old girl was killed after he rammed his cruiser into her family’s vehicle during a high-speed chase on the Thruway.
Ryder Cup
Two months before Baldner was acquitted, an internal scandal was taking shape quietly when high-ranking members of the State Police were allegedly misusing law enforcement and PGA credentials to attend the Ryder Cup golf tournament on Long Island in September.
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On Dec. 2, the Times Union first reported that an internal review prompted by the newspaper’s questions about the allegations had led First Deputy Superintendent R. Christopher West and Col. Darrin S. Pitkin, who were the agency’s second and third in command, respectively, to submit their paperwork to begin the process to retire from the agency.
A third high-ranking member of the State Police, acting Staff Inspector Stephen Udice, filed his retirement paperwork several weeks ago as the investigation into the misuse of PGA credentials by members of the agency was expanding. According to law enforcement sources, Udice had allegedly distributed dozens of complimentary Ryder Cup passes to friends, acquaintances and family members during the golf tournament where State Police were providing the primary security.
During the Sept. 26-28 event, Udice had been the commanding officer of Long Island’s Troop L, which covers the State Police region that includes the renowned Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale. Udice is a major who recently had been reassigned to oversee the State Police professional standards bureau for New York’s southern region.
“Last week, we learned that members of our executive staff may have used work credentials supplied by the PGA, or possibly other free passes, to improperly gain admission to the Ryder Cup tournament in Long Island for themselves and in some cases, family members,” Superintendent Steven G. James said on Dec. 3 in response to questions from the Times Union.
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“From the moment we learned of these allegations, we moved quickly to determine the facts,” the superintendent’s statement added. “Based on what we have learned so far, and at the direction of Gov. (Kathy) Hochul, we are turning over this investigation to the (New York) inspector general. It is critically important that an outside, independent third party conduct a thorough investigation to avoid any appearance of a conflict.”
A historical shakeup
In February 2024, James emerged from retirement after being named superintendent by Hochul, whose administration had seen the prior two State Police superintendents leave the position under a cloud. Within hours of his appointment, James cleared out most of the agency’s top positions on his first day in the job, removing multiple colonels and deputy superintendents from key roles in one of the agency’s biggest one-day leadership shakeups on record.
James, a Niskayuna resident who had retired in 2020, rose through the ranks and had also been a major of Troop G, where he spent much of his law enforcement career.
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He named West, then an assistant deputy superintendent, as his first deputy superintendent, the agency’s second-in-command position.
James also appointed seven new deputy superintendents to new leadership positions, including in the professional standards bureau, field command, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, employee relations and counter-terrorism unit.
The moves by James appeared to be an attempt to reshape the agency’s image after the two prior leaders, Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen and his successor, acting Superintendent Steven Nigrelli, both exited as a result of workplace conduct investigations.
Bruen resigned in October 2022, days after Hochul confirmed her office was examining allegations against him. Sources said the governor’s inquiry included reports that he had shielded a former human resources official from internal complaints due to their close working relationship.
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He was replaced by Steven Nigrelli, who was acting superintendent for less than a year. In a memo before he departed in September 2023, Nigrelli told members of the agency that he’d been informed he was no longer being considered to fill the role permanently and resigned from the position.
It was then revealed that he resigned amid an investigation over allegations of harassment and discrimination at the agency. Hochul’s administration has declined to release records detailing the investigation of Nigrelli; the Times Union filed a lawsuit seeking a court order compelling the disclosure of those documents. The case is pending.
The PBA case
Under a plea agreement that his attorney secured with prosecutors in early September, Mungeer is expected to be sentenced in early January to probation and to be ordered to pay about $25,000 in restitution.
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Evidence gathered during the investigation of the PBA’s leaders had included hard drives and dozens of boxes of records that were seized from the PBA’s Albany headquarters in January 2023. That court-authorized search unfolded as Hochul was delivering her second State of the State address two blocks away at the Capitol.
When the PBA offices were searched, investigators also raided what was then the neighboring offices of the Signal 30 Benefit Fund, which has raised millions of dollars for charitable causes, including financial donations for troopers or their families in connection with an injury, illness or fatality.
The union was plagued by internal concerns dating back years that included questions about alcohol use in the PBA’s Albany headquarters, as well as alcohol bills charged to the union during lavish dinner outings.
The Times Union reported last year that State Police sources had said the evidence gathered in the case also included issuing subpoenas that were used by investigators to examine bank accounts and credit card expenses.
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In addition, there were instances when vehicles were being leased under contracts that front-loaded payments, allowing PBA officials to purchase the vehicles at prices below their market value when they were returned at the end of a lease. That practice has since been prohibited under policies adopted by the PBA’s new leadership.
The arrest of Mungeer came after the investigation stalled last year when federal prosecutors opted to drop out of the case. The Times Union reported at the time that law enforcement sources said the U.S. attorney’s office made that decision without fully examining the trove of materials that were seized during the 2023 raids.
A one-page criminal complaint filed against Mungeer contains little information about his alleged theft of funds, including a lack of details on how much money he is alleged to have misappropriated or how. His retirement took effect on Oct. 1.
Mungeer resigned as president of the PBA in October 2022 amid a leadership shakeup. He exited the position as questions mounted about the finances of the union. He subsequently returned to duty at Troop F in Middletown, where he worked a lot of overtime over the past few years.
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The Albany County District Attorney’s Office agreed last year to meet with State Police investigators and said they would consider prosecuting a case if the criminal charges were honed and supported by evidence. That office had initially been involved in the investigation in 2022, including issuing subpoenas that were used by investigators to examine the PBA’s bank accounts and credit card expenses.
Earlier this year, District Attorney Lee Kindlon and members of his staff met with State Police, including James, the superintendent, and agreed to move forward with a criminal case.
“Accountability and integrity are cornerstones of my administration, and I was proud to pick up the case and help the State Police maintain the highest standards of transparency and professionalism,” Kindlon said following Mungeer’s arraignment in October.
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