150 hours of overtime in one month? NYPD lt. faces probe

A veteran NYPD lieutenant was stripped of his gun and shield and transferred out of the prestigious major case squad while internal investigators review his overtime pay, police sources told the Daily News.

Lt. Thomas Fabrizi was placed on modified duty and transferred on March 15 to a desk job in Manhattan courts after he logged more than 150 hours of overtime during a monthlong stretch when he was not working on a case that would have warranted so many hours, sources said.

It is not yet clear how many of those hours the 19-year veteran actually worked — as opposed to hours he was paid for but may never have worked. A police official said the Internal Affairs Bureau will look back at Fabrizi’s overtime pay for at least a year

Depending on what investigators determine, Fabrizi could face department disciplinary charges — or even criminal charges if the Internal Affairs Bureau believes the overtime covered hours not actually worked.

Fabrizi, who did not respond to a request for comment, made $236,511 last year.

That is just $5,416 less than what Police Commissioner Edward Caban earned — though one source called Fabrizi’s income for last year in line with his rank and the average amount of overtime a lieutenant typically works.

Lou Turco, head of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, had no comment.

The NYPD confirmed its Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating Fabrizi. Sources said IAB will also scrutinize Fabrizi’s supervisors.

City Comptroller Brad Lander in a 2023 report criticized the NYPD for failing to rein in its overtime costs.

And at an NYPD budget hearing last month, City Council members noted that its latest review showed the department had already spent $635 million in overtime this fiscal year — $118 million more than the $517 million it had been allocated.

Police officials blamed unforeseen events — notably the nearly 1,900 protests since the Hamas terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7.

But city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams wasn’t buying it.

“For some reason, the NYPD is the only one that has access to the type of overtime that they claim they need,” Williams said.

A police lieutenant was moved from a prestigious post to a desk job amid scrutiny of his overtime reports. Below, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban may have final say on the cop’s future.