Eric Sanders, the lawyer representing Rodriques, said in a statement that the complaint exposes rank corruption at the upper levels of the NYPD.
A federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed on Feb. 13 by NYPD Lieutenant Emelio Rodriques alleges that James Caban, the twin brother of former police commissioner Edward Caban, occasionally impersonated him with the help of Inspector Aneudy Castillo.
As The Gothamist reports, Rodriques’ complaint describes the occasions that the Caban switched places were made possible by the deception of Castillo, the 34th Precinct’s commanding officer.
As Rodriques told The New York Post, “The CO would always say ‘Caban is coming.’ We just thought it was the commissioner. I saluted him. Other cops also saluted him.”
Per Rodriques’ complaint, both Castillo and other officers impressed upon him that any nightclubs or other establishments that were tied to James Caban were “off limits to police oversight,” and that officers were told to close out complaints from the public regarding those businesses without actually investigating them.
Rodriques, a Jamaican man, said that in his attempts to report this misconduct, he faced discrimination and retaliation based on his race and nationality; Rodriques also maintained that he was charged with ensuring that other officers complied with the law as part of his duty as the precinct’s integrity control officer until he was removed by Castillo.
Castillo, however, forcefully maintained that the allegations against him from Rodriques are false in a statement he issued via email to The Gothamist.
“Nothing would please me more than to respond to those lies,” Castillo said, before noting that for him to respond in any official capacity, he needed clearance from the NYPD press office.
The NYPD chose not to comment to the outlet on the record, but Rodriques’ complaint sets forth that there is “widespread corruption and abuse of power” in the 34th Precinct.
Edward Caban’s resignation came in September, after the Biden Administration’s Justice Department separately began to look into corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, while Caban was being investigated by the IRS and the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.
According to a press release issued by The Sanders Firm, the law firm representing Rodriques, the NYPD “engaged in racial discrimination, subjected him to a hostile work environment, and retaliated against him for exposing corruption and misconduct within the department.”
Eric Sanders, the lawyer representing Rodriques, said in a statement that the complaint exposes rank corruption at the upper levels of the NYPD.
The press release reads, “Lieutenant Rodrigues has dedicated over two decades to protecting and serving the people of New York, only to be repaid with retaliation, racial discrimination, and workplace harassment for doing the right thing. His case is a glaring example of the corruption within the NYPD’s upper ranks. No officer should be punished for refusing to engage in selective enforcement, payroll fraud, and cover-ups. We are calling for a full federal investigation into the practices of the NYPD and those responsible for Lieutenant Rodrigues’ mistreatment.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
