Conflict for cop monitor
THE NYPD federal monitor’s team isn’t quite squeaky clean.
Team member James McCabe, a retired NYPD inspector, was reprimanded by the Conflicts of Interest Board in 2010 . McCabe had served as a paid consultant to cops who were suing the city in a case in which he’d previously participated — when he served as the commanding officer of the department’s office of labor relations.
McCabe received a stern warning letter from the board.
Peter Zimroth, the monitor appointed by a federal judge to reform systemic abuses of police stop-and-frisks, defended his decision to hire McCabe as a $200-per-hour consultant.
“Jim did inform me about the incident, and I did not think it was disqualifying,” Zimroth said. “The conflict of interest board issued a letter stating that Mr. McCabe had been retained as an expert while at the NYPD on a matter in which he was involved. The involvement was his presence at a single meeting for which Mr. McCabe did not recall.”
The suit brought by cops charged the NYPD failed to approve and pay overtime, in violation of the labor law.
McCabe had attended a meeting with city lawyers to discuss the suit. A year after he retired in 2006, McCabe was hired by the cop plaintiffs to prepare an expert report in support of their claims, according to the board’s report.
The board didn’t dispute McCabe’s explanation that he didn't remember meeting with city lawyers — but it scolded him for relying solely on his memory.
While the board concluded McCabe didn’t disclose or misuse confidential information, he was slapped with a “public warning letter.”
A law enforcement source said McCabe falls short of the requirement that the monitor's team be above reproach.
“His actions demonstrate poor judgment, making him unqualified to pass judgment on other members of the New York City Police Department,” the source said.
McCabe did not respond to a request for comment.
A source said he is a candidate for the NYPD’s opening for deputy commissioner of training.