Federal investigators have subpoenaed a group of NYPD lieutenants responsible for handling complaints about bars amid a widening investigation into a scheme that allegedly involved the brother of former Police Commissioner Edward Cavan, who resigned on Friday, according to information obtained by The Washington Post.
According to police sources, special operations lieutenants are responsible for identifying and addressing quality of life issues in their precincts through 311 hotline calls.
Sources said lieutenants were told to let their guard down in bars where James Cavan, the former chief's twin and former NYPD officer, was a customer: “Don't police, just mediate,” officers were told.
“Noise complaints, crowd complaints, drinking on the sidewalk, sex in cars – these are all behaviors that impact the neighborhood,” the source said.
The Brooklyn bar owner told NBC New York on Thursday that James Cavan tried to “blackmail” him last summer.
Shamel Kelly, owner of Juice & Moore on Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, He told NBC New York To escape the police scrutiny that swarmed his shop, he went to City Hall, where the Mayor's staff introduced him to James Cavan.
His bar, which served juice during the day and alcohol on weekend nights, received dozens of noise complaints, records show.
Kelly claims James Cavan offered to settle the matter with police if he paid him $2,500.
“He said he would mediate my issue with the NYPD,” Kelly told the station.
“He specifically said he could bring them to me, have a meeting, and we could work through our issues,” Kelly alleged.
“After he told me I had to pay him, I felt like he was trying to extort me.”
Kelly ultimately refused to go ahead with the plan and said the bar was closed. Mayoral staffer Ray Martin was fired Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the plan.
The two men, along with several senior NYPD officials and the mayor, had their cellphones confiscated by federal authorities. None have been charged with any crime.
Former FBI official Thomas Donlon was sworn in as interim police chief on Friday.
Edward Cabán, who will become the first Hispanic to serve in the position in 2023, has vowed to crack down on crime. Serious crimes, including murder, have declined during his tenure.
