NYC police commissioner resigns amid nightclub probe

New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned Thursday amid a federal investigation into the department’s nightclub enforcement, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Caban, the city’s first Latino police commissioner, took over the department in July 2023 after being tapped by Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration is the target of multiple federal investigations.

“The news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department, and I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” Caban said in an email to members of the NYPD, which was obtained by NBC News.

“I hold immense respect and gratitude for the brave officers who serve this department, and the NYPD deserves someone who can solely focus on protecting and serving New York City, which is why — for the good of this city and this department — I have made the difficult decision to resign as police commissioner,” the email added.

Adams, speaking in an address later Thursday, announced that he was appointing Thomas Donlon as the interim police commissioner. Donlon is a national security expert who previously ran the FBI’s National Threat Center and the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force. He was also the New York state director of the Office of Homeland Security.

Caban’s phone was seized last week around the same time that FBI agents raided the homes of top Adams administration officials as part of a separate probe. Those whose homes were searched included First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III.

Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, who owns a nightclub security business, also had his phone seized in the corruption investigation involving the NYPD.

Federal investigators want to know if James Caban profited from his ties to his powerful brother and the NYPD, according to multiple sources. Specifically, the investigation is looking into whether James Caban was paid by bars and clubs in Midtown Manhattan and Queens to act as a police liaison, and if those clubs were then afforded special treatment by local precincts, the sources said.

Lawyers for Edward Caban described him in a statement as an “accomplished public servant who has dedicated his life to the safety and security of the people of this great city.”

“We have been informed by the government that he is not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York, and he expects to cooperate fully with the government,” said the lawyers, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski.

Spokespersons for the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past year, FBI agents have searched the homes of multiple city officials and advisers close to Adams as part of a separate investigation that is believed to be focused on whether the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors.

A City Hall source said last week that the latest search did not seem to be related to the Turkey investigation.

Adams has repeatedly deflected questions about the investigation while stressing that he has not officially been accused of wrongdoing.

“I was as surprised as you to learn of these inquiries and I take them extremely seriously,” the mayor said Thursday.

He said he accepted Caban’s resignation a short time ago and concluded that “this is the best decision at this time.”

“I respect his decision, and I wish him well,” Adams added.