Sorry pal, you are out
Adams’ aide gets a little payback on NYPD honcho who probed him
A top aide to Mayor Adams who once faced a NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau probe this week got to tell the cop who oversaw that probe that he’s going to be replaced, Police Department sources said.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Joseph Reznick’s departure is no surprise, as new mayoral administrations typically put new faces at the NYPD’s executive level.
But high-ranking sources told the Daily News that Reznick’s departure is of particular delight to the man who delivered him the news — ex-NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks, who is part of Adams’ NYPD transition team and said to be in line to become Adams’ deputy mayor for public safety.
Banks retired in late 2014, passing on a promotion to first deputy commissioner that he believed limited his responsibilities.
But the day before Banks called it quits at the NYPD, the FBI sought a wiretap to listen in on his phone conversations.
The IAB — led by Reznick — aided the FBI probe, which included allegations that Banks might be linked to an illegal liquor distribution ring and earned money from rental incomes that were listed in the names of family members, according to police sources.
Banks was not charged, but later named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a larger probe that included former Mayor Bill de Blasio, other high-ranking cops and Norman Seabrook, the head of the city Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
Seabrook was convicted of taking a $60,000 bribe in 2014 in exchange for a $20 million investment of correction officers union money in a hedge fund that went bankrupt.
When a Daily News reporter called Banks on Thursday to ask about Reznick’s departure, Banks hung up the phone.
Reznick, 70, joined the NYPD in 1973. He did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear if he would retire, as expected by many in the department, or accept another NYPD job that would be less prestigious.
Reznick was named head of the Internal Affairs Bureau in 2014 and was later given the civilian title of deputy commissioner, which allowed him to work past the required retirement age of 63 for police officers.
Also on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Administration Robert Ganley was told he is being replaced, said sources with knowledge of the situation. Ganley on Thursday told his staff he will retire by the end of the month, the sources said.
Further personnel moves are expected in the coming weeks, with a number of chiefs expected to retire.
“As is normal in any transition, conversations are continuing with senior staff members about whether they will stay in current positions, shift to other responsibilities or seek outside options,” said Deputy Commissioner John Miller, the NYPD’s top spokesman.