The former head of the NYPD\u2019s School Safety Division solicited and accepted bribes from the CEO of a Florida-based tech company in a bid to snag a multi-million deal to put his panic button software in New York City\u2019s public schools, federal prosecutors charged Thursday.<\/p>\n
The former NYPD chief, Kevin Taylor, and the executive, Geno Roefaro of Saferwatch, were both arrested and charged with bribery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starting in July 2023, Roefaro plied Taylor with $70,000 in cash and vacations for him and an unnamed female paramour to the Bahamas and Las Vegas, the indictment alleges. The Vegas bribe included tickets to a helicopter tour and a \u201cmedieval-themed dinner theater,\u201d the indictment says.<\/p>\n
The alleged bribes were part of a broader scheme by Saferwatch to snag a major city contract that also involved three brothers: ex-Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, III, ex-Schools Chancellor David Banks (both appointees of former Mayor Eric Adams) and Terence Banks.<\/p>\n
As part of this campaign, Saferwatch hired a consultant firm Terence set up, enabling it to set up meetings with both of his brothers, Philip and David, as first reported<\/a> by THE CITY.<\/p>\n That CITY article caused Taylor to worry that his behind-the-scenes effort to transform a pilot program he had set up for Saferwatch into an $11 million contract would be exposed, prosecutors revealed in their 29-page indictment<\/a>.<\/p>\n The case brought by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton alleges that Taylor \u201con multiple occasions\u201d boasted to vendors seeking contracts about his close ties to Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Banks. Records show Taylor met with Philip Banks about the \u201cpanic button.\u201d<\/p>\n The indictment says Saferwatch began its campaign to win a big New York City contract in the summer of 2022, the first year of the Adams administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company first hired former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson<\/a>, who met with David Banks in December 2022 and then with Philip Banks and his chief of staff in January 2023, pitching the firm\u2019s product.\u00a0<\/p>\n But at some point, Saferwatch also hired Terence Banks\u2019 firm, and Philip Banks later confirmed he\u2019d spoken with his brother about the firm.<\/p>\n According to records reviewed by THE CITY, Philip Banks met with Taylor a few days after the pitch by Johnson. In September, Taylor arranged a no-bid purchase order of $19,000 to start a pilot program at five schools. That November, Taylor testified to the City Council that he planned to roll the panic button out citywide.<\/p>\n In between, prosecutors say, Roefaro began handing Taylor wads of cash, starting with $20,000, then $15,000, then another $35,000, while Taylor began recommending to his superiors that the NYPD award Saferwatch the $11 million contract.<\/p>\n The CEO also allegedly funded the Vegas vacation that September that included air fare, a luxury hotel room, a helicopter tour of the city and a night of retro fun at a \u201cmedieval-themed dinner theater.\u201d That was followed in November by a trip to the Bahamas, the indictment alleges.<\/p>\n By that December, however, Roefaro began to complain that all of his payments to Taylor weren\u2019t turning into an actual contract. Using the encrypted Signal app, he texted Taylor, \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing from you brother and I\u2019m already in for hundreds of thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor responded, \u201cYou got nothing from me? You can\u2019t play with the big boys and piss like a puppy.\u201d (Prosecutors say they were able to recover some Signal conversations because the participants screen-grabbed and saved them.)<\/p>\n With the end of 2023 approaching, Roefaro\u2019s tone darkened dramatically. In a Dec. 22, 2023 text to Taylor, he wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s been fun but it\u2019s not fun or funny anymore.\u201d Demanding results by end of year, he stated, \u201cIf not I\u2019m fucked and you don\u2019t want me to be fucked. I\u2019m both your whore and your sugar daddy all in one. I need you to take this seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor got as far as arranging a mid-January 2024 press conference with Department of Education officials to announce a deal with Saferwatch, but at the last minute, the event was cancelled. Saferwatch didn\u2019t get any contracts, and Taylor was removed from his role as commanding officer of the School Safety Division a few weeks later, demoted to a lesser role within the NYPD.<\/p>\n That Sept. 4, the FBI and city Department of Investigation seized the cell phones of several top officials in the Adams administration, including Philip and David Banks, as well as electronic devices from Terence Banks, as first reported by THE CITY<\/a>. Saferwatch received a subpoena at the same time.<\/p>\n