Police Commissioner Ray Kelly keeps a secret list of police officers who cannot be transferred without his specific approval. The list, which the Voice obtained from an NYPD employee, is part of a 23-page spreadsheet that contains the names of 2,300 officers, their ranks, their ID numbers, old units, new units, and coded descriptions of thousands of personnel decisions throughout the past several years. Strangely, the document isn't marked with any police insignia or command titles.
In all, according to the list, Kelly banned transfers without his specific approval for at least 96 police officers over the past several years and rejected pending transfers for at least 59 more, which overrules his subordinates. He also transferred 228 officers to VIPER, where cops sit and stare at video screens to monitor crime in public housing—a unit seen as a dumping ground for those in trouble or out of favor, where careers can languish for years. Hundreds more names on the list are of officers "transferred for cause," or sent to another command for some transgression, which could be anything from serious misconduct to irritating a commander.
Most of the officers who made the list don't know that the commissioner essentially froze their careers in place, in what some department insiders say is Kelly's version of the city's notorious former "rubber room" system for teachers awaiting adjudication of their cases, where they were asked to sit indefinitely in classrooms away from students. Others call the list Kelly's "gulag," a way of punishing officers without forcing them to retire or quit.
Once a name goes on the list, it doesn't come off, even after years have passed and an officer has been brought back into the fold—a circumstance that someone likened to being forced to wear a scarlet letter for the duration of his or her career. In its stark, clipped language, the secret spreadsheet offers a rare insight into how the department is run by Kelly, who will soon become the city's longest-serving police commissioner. It also might give an indication of how he would run the city if he runs for and is elected mayor.
Most importantly, the list confirms Kelly's reputation as a micromanager who reviews just about every transfer that takes place in the largest police department in the country.
Paul Browne, a police spokesman, did not respond to Voice requests for a discussion of the spreadsheet.
Ray Kelly has a big job, overseeing 40,000 employees and a multibillion-dollar budget larger than that of at least five states. But he is apparently also involved in many decisions that used to be delegated to subordinates.
To put it in context, prior to Kelly, police commissioners did not bother with low-level, routine transfers.
"In the old days, the police commissioner didn't get involved in that," says a former Kelly staffer. "The borough commanders would call each other and say, 'I need to move a guy,' or, 'I need a guy from Precinct X.' Kelly centralized all of that."
Insiders attribute Kelly's involvement in these decisions to the behavior of his predecessor, Bernard Kerik, who, over Kelly's objections, promoted a large number of his NYPD cronies during his last days in office.
The source says that he often saw Kelly come into his 14th-floor office at One Police Plaza on Sunday afternoons to pore over transfer requests and related documents.
That's a different image than the one Kelly himself has been promoting lately as his department is hit with a series of corruption cases. Kelly has put these problems down to a "few bad apples," as if there were things going sour in his department that he was unaware of.
Murray Weiss, a respected longtime police reporter now writing for DNAinfo, recently noted that the "bad apple approach may deflect a troublesome story, but it has insidious shortcomings. It sends the message that the NYPD is a closed society that will protect its own."
The spreadsheet illustrates, however, that Kelly is even more hands-on than he lets on with individual police officers he considers problematic in some way. In this story, we have looked at some of the many decisions Kelly has made that are indicated in the spreadsheet. In some cases, we do not have a complete set of facts or history to explain Kelly's decisions. For that reason, the Voice is withholding some names that appear on the list.
One of the officers designated "do not transfer without PC approval" is James Albertelli, who was indicted in 2005 on bribery and coercion charges when he was assigned to the 13th Precinct in Manhattan.
But in 2006, he was acquitted of all charges, and Patrolmen's Benevolent Association boss Patrick Lynch called it a "politically motivated case." "With nothing more than a bogus complaint and no evidence, the DA's office charged two honorable police officers in a successful attempt to generate pre-election publicity," Lynch said.
And then, in January 2008, Albertelli was transferred to the 111th Precinct with the notation "Don't move again without PC approval."
Was that failed indictment enough to plant the scarlet letter on Albertelli for the rest of his career? Did he get in trouble for something else?
Hopefully Anthony Bologna is on the sh*tlist. And I think he assigns the worst cops to Zuccotti Park as "punishment". The NYPD has been nothing but helpful to me everywhere but at Zuccotti Park.
As for the cop who gave a DUI to the Hoboken city councilman, why should he be taken off traffic duty for that? He should be commended for not letting him off with a warning. No matter who you are, if you drive drunk you should be treated the same as everyone else who drives drunk.
post the list, the people on it have a right to know that they're being denied career advancement without just cause
best idea ever - post the whole list - make it public - start a shit storm - blow Kelly's cover - embarrass Bloomie - couldn't be better!!!
Well, it is certainly a "shit-list" but with the unfathomably low level character of most NYPD cops, what do you expect? Instead of NYPD being a well-trained, highly-disciplined force that uphold the law and have the ability to do so with integrity and intelligence, we have a shower of ill-trained, corrupt and angry shit protecting the city. They are an army of thugs. Kelly, as their General, ought to be on the list himself, but I suppose the City needs someone like him to keep a lid on the uniformed terrorists that are so-called "New York's Finest". White shirt abuse at OWS would be the least of our troubles if there wasn't the constant fear of the "Disapproved by PC" list. So, I find myself feeling strangely grateful; what else can be done with an untrainable group?
You obviously know very little (slim to nothing ) about the nypd except your personal experience with a hand full of cops and reading the good ole "reliable" newspapers! If the public doesnt respond to courtesy, professionalism and respect, then other measures to be taken is most definitely in order
The NYPD is not unique in having a shit list. It is pretty much SOP in most companies. If you get on it for being anti-management, union activity, speaking out about policies, etc, etc you will never be promoted, you will never be transferred, you will never be selected for special projects and they are just waiting for you to screw up so that they can fire you for just cause. If you realize that you are on such a list look for work elsewhere asap.
---Тhis is сrаzу...Мy friеnd`s sistеr mакеs 78/hr оn thе intеrnеt. Shе hаs bееn unеmрlоуеd fоr 11 mоnths but lаst mоnth hеr incоmе wаs 7985$ јust wоrкing оn thе РС fоr а fеw hоurs. Gо tо this wеb sitе .......http://alturl.com/b8ru3
I agree the whole list should be posted as public info so officers can contact the union and put pressure on a department that portrays all its subordinates as corrupt, when in fact, the corrupt ones are the ones who have no one over them.
my friends mom makes $73 every hour on the internet. She has been unemployed for 8 months but last month her check was $7650 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read about it on this web site CashHard.com
my friends mom makes $73 every hour on the internet. She has been unemployed for 8 months but last month her check was $7650 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read about it on this web site CashHard.com
So do you have evidence that Ray Kelly personally reviewed and approved of the favorable transfer for Tony Baloney after he pepper sprayed those women?
No but your moma do. I never knowd and honest cop. My grany back in the 50s called em no good flat-footed wholagans. I guess there aint much chaged in all these years. Show-is the truth!
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
