City DOI probes a bust

Arrests drop sharply

Arrests and referrals for criminal prosecution dropped dramatically at the city Department of Investigation under a new commissioner who previously served as Mayor de Blasio’s campaign treasurer.

Records show that from July through November 2014 — the first five months of the current fiscal year — arrests by the agency’s investigators fell 74 percent, from 374 to 96, compared with the same period a year earlier during the Bloomberg administration.

Similarly, the number of referrals for criminal prosecution over the same period tanked from 301 to 105 — a decline of 65 percent.

Referrals for less serious charges also dropped, falling by 37 percent.

At the same time, the agency is taking 30 percent longer to close cases, 178 days compared with 137 a year before.

A DOI spokeswoman said the numbers reflect the fact that the agency, which is charged with rooting out corruption and wrongdoing by city workers, is concentrating its resources on major cases.

“[The] DOI is focusing our investigative resources on conducting broad investigations, like our deepdive studies of Rikers Island and the city’s 911 system, to identify systemic issues, highlight corruption and mismanagement in city agencies, and provide recommendations on how to prevent these problems going forward,” the spokeswoman said.

When he was appointed in February last year, DOI Commissioner Mark Peters insisted he could run an independent office, despite his de Blasio connection.

But for the first time in years, the DOI did not publish a yearend statistical summary of its work. And despite multiple requests, agency officials weren’t able to provide data covering all of 2014.

If the DOI’s arrest numbers were to continue on pace for a 12month stretch, they would reach a singleyear total of 230.

By contrast, the agency made at least 711 arrests every year from 2010 through 2013 under former Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. In 2013, the DOI reported 834 arrests.