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Internal Investigator Is Removed Over Rikers Spying Claim - The New York Times

posted onMay 8, 2017
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Article snippet: New York City officials on Monday ordered that the head of internal affairs at the Correction Department be removed from his position and placed on modified duty, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The action was in response to accusations that the official, Gregory Kuczinski, and his subordinates spied on city investigators as they conducted undercover anti-corruption operations at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex, the spokesman, Eric F. Phillips said. Last week, the Department of Investigation notified the mayor that Mr. Kuczinski had overseen an effort by his subordinates to listen in on calls between one of its investigators and inmate informants. They continued to do so even after receiving a directive to end the practice, the investigation agency said. Mr. Kuczinski, the deputy commissioner of the Correction Department’s Investigation Division, denied wrongdoing in an interview on Sunday about the Department of Investigation’s allegations, and disputed several aspects of that agency’s account. Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte, who appointed Mr. Kuczinski, was notified of the eavesdropping in February after another official had intervened to stop it, but did not report it to the Department of Investigation — as city rules require — or take any action against Mr. Kuczinski. On Sunday night, the commissioner, responding to questions about the allegations in the Department of Investigation’s letter to the mayor, defended Mr. Kuczinski’s condu... Link to the full article to read more

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