Just yesterday we discussed an unfolding corruption scandal in New York City where NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and his twin brother reportedly had a sweet deal set up where they were allegedly selling "protection" to Gotham nightclubs and restaurants so they could avoid "complications" with law enforcement over code violations and other legal issues. Progress in the investigation seems to be moving ahead quickly and it's now being reported that the Commissioner is expected to step down from his position as soon as this week as a federal investigation into their activities continues to expand. For his part, Mayor Adams is claiming that he knows nothing about all of this and none of this information is coming from his office. But the feds don't appear to be backing off at all, and this may be the end of the road for the twin brothers. (Politico)

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban is expected to resign his post in the coming days, following news of a federal investigation involving possible corruption, four people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

Caban was scheduled to meet with police brass Monday, as he weighs a decision that is not entirely his to make, according to two people who were granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive matter...

“We remain focused on ensuring New Yorkers are safe every single day, and that’s our top priority,” City Hall spokesperson Fabien Levy said. “We’re not going to speculate on rumors at this point.”

Mayor Eric Adams, who readily stands by embattled aides, said of Caban during an unrelated press conference Monday that “I chose him for his experience and what he brought after 30-something years of service.”

Mayor Adams has somewhat famously stood by the various people in the municipal administration whenever they've run into questions of corruption of various sorts. This may be a sign of loyalty, which can be admirable, but it also might point to the fact that the Mayor himself has been implicated in many of these schemes, as we discussed earlier this week. In this case, however, after expressing his admiration of and confidence in Edward Caban as the commissioner, Adams declined to say whether or not he felt Caban should step aside. He also declined to say whether or not he believed Caban would still be in his current office in four months, saying that nobody can predict the future.

The circle of people who could allegedly be involved is growing. It has now been revealed that First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III were both raided by federal agents at their homes this morning. Phones, laptops, and other electronic devices were seized. Perhaps that's part of the reason why the feds warned the Adams administration to retain all electronic devices and to not destroy any records.

The cast of characters continues to expand. Electronic devices were seized from the Commissioner's twin brother Terence Banks, as well as an aide to Adams named Tim Pearson. You may recognize some of these names from our previous coverage because most of them became ensnarled in complaints over nepotism and sweetheart deals early in the Adams administration. 

Sometimes you only need to see just so much smoke before you conclude that there is probably a fire lurking underneath somewhere. This is a very unfortunate development for New York City, particularly at this specific moment in time. The NYPD was already facing severe staffing issues at a time when violent crime and property crime have been running rampant, with the flood of illegal migrants compounding these problems in many areas. People need to have faith in and support their police force so they will be more likely to cooperate in investigations and feed tips to law enforcement. These types of headlines no doubt leave some residents wondering if they aren't surrounded by even more criminals than they feared, with the difference being that some of them are on the municipal payroll. Everyone deserves their day in court and this crew is no exception. But if they are engaged in corruption, they need to be replaced with people who are ready to serve honorably. It seems increasingly as if Mayor Adams isn't exactly the best judge of character when it comes to making such appointments.