Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has ordered a review of a little-known vehicle unit amid concerns that some NYPD executives may be using cars that are earmarked for investigators, the Daily News has learned.
CRALO, or Confidential Rental and Leasing Office, was formed under former Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and is designed to give investigators, such as detectives and undercovers, use of various types of vehicles — everything from a Honda to a Jeep — that criminals don’t typically associate with unmarked NYPD vehicles.
Most CRALO vehicles are leased — which is cheaper than renting — and are paid with federal money, sources said.
But over the years, according to sources, a number of CRALO vehicles have been assigned to cops not involved with investigations. There is concern in the department that commanders or executives asked for such a vehicle and use them to travel to and from work and during work hours.
Sources said that could hamper a criminal probe if a cop assigned the vehicle is forced instead to use a standard unmarked car, which could potentially be more easily spotted by drug dealers and other criminals. About $1.2 million is spent each month on the 1,000 or so CRALO vehicles.
“It’s really not right because the program does have its merits,” a source said.
Tisch, in a memo released to top brass Tuesday and obtained by the Daily News, has ordered a CRALO review that “is intended to assess current unmarked vehicle allocation on a bureau by bureau basis and to determine the department’s appropriate allocation.”
The memo mandates Tisch get a full inventory of CRALO vehicles and a justification for the use of each one — and notes that no CRALO vehicle should be designated “Category 1,” meaning a vehicle that can be taken to and from home.
“No executive may be assigned a CRALO vehicle for use in performing their duties,” the memo reads. “No staff who support an executive may have a CRALO vehicle assigned for the sole or secondary purpose of driving an executive.”
In a statement, Tisch said she wants CRALO vehicles to be used for their original intent.
“The NYPD,” she said, “is ensuring departmental guidelines are followed to improve efficiency, ensure proper oversight, and eliminate any potential for misuse. ”
The review comes amid Tisch’s vow to run a more by-the-books department.
The top cop at a promotion ceremony last month said she would not accept anything less than “ethical leadership” from the upper echelons of the NYPD.
“You must continue to lead with integrity and with honor in all of your work,” she told the promoters. “That is my standard — and it is as clear as it is non-negotiable.”
Those comments came on the heels of the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who has been accused by a subordinate, Lt. Quathisha Epps, in a complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, of repeatedly demanding sex from her “in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.”
Maddrey has denied the allegations made by Epps, who made more than $200,000 in overtime in the most recent fiscal year.
The allegations and the overtime are now the subject of a joint city and federal probe.
Tisch, in turn, has cracked down on overtime, putting in place an “Overtime Management Plan” designed to “stem abuse [and] ensure adherence to department guidelines…” according to another memo.
Under the plan, each bureau in the department will be allocated a certain amount of OT hours each month. For each bureau, a newly designated compliance officer — a captain or someone of higher rank — will monitor and track each month’s OT and explain any “variances,” meaning hours above the normally allocated amount.