Federal prosecutors investigating former NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey
Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors are investigating former NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who has been suspended following sexual misconduct allegations.
Investigators showed up with search warrants at several locations linked to Maddrey, including his home.
Maddrey had submitted his resignation effective later this month, but is now suspended pending an investigation by the NYPD internal affairs investigation.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the New York City Department of Investigation are investigating allegations that Maddrey demanded sexual favors from a subordinate at police headquarters in exchange for overtime approval.
Maddrey has denied the allegations against him, with his lawyer telling WABC that Maddrey did not have authority to approve, assign or give overtime.
“At my direction, the Internal Affairs Bureau of the New York City Police Department is working with law enforcement authorities to investigate allegations against former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey,” a statement from New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Thursday. “Maddrey was suspended from the Department this morning, as law enforcement agents executed search warrants at several locations, including his residence.”
Tisch directed further inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not offer comment Thursday.
(NEW YORK) — A Manhattan judge on Wednesday granted a motion by prosecutors to combine Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on sex crimes charges with his trial on a new charge of forcing oral sex on a woman in 2006.
Prosecutors convinced Judge Curtis Farber to consolidate the cases into a single trial in part by arguing separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient.”
Farber did not set a new trial date but suggested it would likely occur in the spring, displeasing the defense, which had hoped for a quicker resolution.
Weinstein is next due in court Jan. 29.
He appeared in court in a wheelchair Wednesday following his recent bone marrow cancer diagnosis.
Weinstein is currently being held in prison on Rikers Island in New York, where he has experienced a slew of health issues amid his ongoing sexual assault trials.
He has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.
He pleaded not guilty to the new charge, based on the 2006 incident, last month.
“Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody,” his attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters outside the courthouse following the arraignment on Sept. 19.
He is also charged in a previous New York State Supreme Court indictment with criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
A backyard in Orange County, New York, became the site of an incredible discovery of a complete mastodon jaw — the first find like it in New York in more than 11 years. (New York State Museum)
(NEW YORK) — A backyard in Orange County, New York, became the site of an incredible discovery of a complete mastodon jaw — the first find like it in New York in more than 11 years.
The jaw, along with a piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment, was uncovered near Scotchtown by researchers from the New York State Museum and SUNY Orange.
The discovery began when a homeowner spotted two teeth sticking out of the dirt under a plant. After digging a little deeper, they found two more teeth just below the surface. Realizing the find might be something special, the homeowner called in experts, and soon a full excavation was underway.
“When I found the teeth and held them in my hands, I knew they were something special,” said the homeowner. “I’m so excited that our yard had something so important for science.”
The team of researchers uncovered a well-preserved jaw belonging to an adult mastodon, an ancient relative of today’s elephants. The jaw will now be studied to figure out how old it is, what the mastodon ate and what its life was like during the Ice Age.
“This jaw is an amazing discovery,” said Dr. Robert Feranec, an expert from the New York State Museum. “Fossils like this help us learn about ancient ecosystems and give us clues about how the world has changed over time.”
Orange County has been a great place to find mastodon fossils. In fact, about one-third of the 150 mastodon fossils found in New York have come from this area.
Dr. Cory Harris from SUNY Orange said they hope to keep digging in the area to see if there are more bones waiting to be found.
“The jaw is the most exciting part, but the toe and rib fragments might also help us learn more about this animal,” Dr. Harris explained.
The jaw will eventually be displayed at the New York State Museum in 2025, after scientists finish their research, according to Michael Mastroianni, a leader at the museum.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione has been indicted in New York for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the grand jury has upgraded charges to first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Mangione, 26, is also charged with: two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
The slaying in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was “intended to evoke terror,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO headed to an investors conference.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated,” Bragg said in a statement Tuesday.
In Pennsylvania, where Mangione remains in custody, he faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.
He is expected to waive extradition from Pennsylvania during his next court appearance on Thursday, sources said.
Mangione has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo as his lawyer in New York. She was a 25-year veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and its second in command for eight years.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run.
When Mangione was apprehended, he had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges, prosecutors said.
Thompson’s murder ignited online anger at the health insurance industry. Many people online have celebrated the suspect and some have donated to a defense fund for Mangione.
“There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at Tuesday’s news conference.
“Any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice,” she said.
“Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing,” President-elect Donald Trump said at a news conference Monday.
“It’s really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him,” Trump said.
“It seems that there’s a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it,” Trump added.
Sources said writings police seized from Mangione suggest he was fixated on UnitedHealthcare for months and gradually developed a plan to kill the CEO.
Among the writings recovered from Mangione was a passage that allegedly said, “What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,” according to law enforcement officials.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
