Adams' fidelity to the NYPD getting a severe test

Scandals in the police department seldom bode well for the mayors of New York City. Seventy-five years ago this month, the arrest of a well-known bookmaker by the name of Harry Gross quickly brought about the downfall of Mayor William O’Dwyer and his police commissioner. Like Mayor Eric Adams, O’Dwyer had also been a New York City cop.

At the time of his arrest, Gross’s massive bookmaking operation had been under a grand jury investigation for several months by the Brooklyn district attorney, which ironically was O’Dwyer’s previous elected post. 

Gross was a hard nut for the Brooklyn D.A. to crack, but eventually he talked, as they all do, and when he did, the ensuing scandal rocked the NYPD to its core. No doubt O’Dwyer still had contacts inside the D.A.’s office who kept him apprised of the investigation before it became public. The mayor didn’t wait around for his name to be dragged through the mud. Instead, he used whatever political capital he had left in the bank to convince the Truman administration to give him an out that salvaged his reputation. 

Truman appointed him ambassador to Mexico. There he hid out in plain sight while high ranking police officials in his administration took the hits. The first to go was Police Commissioner William O’Brien, followed by his chief of detectives, William Whalen, and the Commanding Officer of the Confidential Squad, the Internal Affairs of the time, Inspector John Flynn. 

In all, 22 police officers were convicted of receiving bribes. One officer was in a sixth-floor courtroom about to testify when he decided jail wasn’t for him. He jumped out the window and plunged to his death. Another 240 officers were either terminated or forced to resign and lose their pensions.

The question today is what can Mayor Eric Adams learn from this? It is obvious that he’s more than a blip on the feds’ radar. He’s already had his cellphone records confiscated for matters believed to be related to his campaign contributions. But this most recent investigation appears much more serious. 

Never have so many officials in one mayoral administration been under scrutiny at the same time. It is particularly troubling that two of the most prominent, similar to the Harry Gross scandal, are directly tied to the police department: Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and former NYPD Chief Philip Banks III  and Police Commissioner Edward Caban, among others. 

According to public reports, both of their homes were raided by the FBI and evidence removed. The mayor has affirmed that he still has faith in Caban’s ability to lead the largest police department in the country. Statements like that are often the kiss of death for the official being praised. 

With so many in the mayor’s inner circle under investigation, it begs the question, if any one of them has done something wrong, will they admit it to save their skin? What starts out as a trickle soon becomes a tidal wave as authorities play one off the other until they get the evidence they need for an indictment. 

Whether Adams has access to inside information as O’Dwyer most likely did remains to be seen. But if he does, maybe he should think about planning his exit strategy before it’s too late.

When Mayor Jimmy Walker’s misdoings became public in 1932, he soon resigned, proclaimed his innocence, promised to clear his name and then seek reelection. He did none of those things. Ten days later he set sail for Europe with his mistress and stayed there for three years.

Bernard Whalen is a former NYPD lieutenant and co-author of “The NYPD’s First Fifty Years” and “Case Files of the NYPD.”

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