Shop NYC Top

NYC’s leadership is in a real bad place right now. We can pretend that it’s just a couple crooked bureaucrats going rogue but it’s very clear that there is a seismic shift happening in the management of the city. This sweep is going to change a whole lot more than just city hall.

Here are all the NYC officials that seem to be under investigation related to this probe:

Mayor Eric Adams. First he was being investigated because of ties to mobbed up contractors and developers. Then he was being investigated for acting as an agent of the Turkish govt. Now the investigation has turned into a massive extortion racket run by law enforcement and managed by city hall.

Former NYPD Commissioner Ed Caban. The nightlife racket seems to be based on the Cabans ability to steer, control and eliminate NYPD oversight of an establishment.

James Caban, Ed Caban’s twin brother. He was running a private security company that would accept consulting fees from bars and clubs to smooth out issues with the city. Despite having no role at the NYPD, James was given an NYPD security detail. This alone seems to be at least 6 figures worth of corruption.

Timothy Pearson, he’s described as one of Adams’ closest confidant and former NYPD officer. This guys hard to write about because he seems to have done so many things wrong. He’s recently been hired by Adams to oversee security for NYCs legal gambling locations after spending years working for Resorts International. But he’s also been named in 4 sexual harassment lawsuits just this year. Pearson was also seen getting into a fight security guards at a migrant shelter. He was then seen ordering the arrest of those guards, who were then taken into custody by NYPD despite Pearson having no role at the NYPD.

Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety.

David C Banks, Chancellor of Schools.

Terence Banks, consultant and brother of David and Philip Banks

Sheena Wright, first deputy mayor. These last 4 all seem to have been involved in bid rigging or some version of charging consulting fees in exchange for lucrative government contracts. The scam is similar in shape to the police protection racket run by Caban but the numbers would be muuuuuuch bigger. Caban allegedly charged $2,500 to help a bar owner squash some noise complaints but the kinds of contracts that these 4 could have steered could reach up to 6 or 7 figures.

Ray Martin, city official who worked in the Office of Entertainment and Nightlife. Recently a brooklyn bar owner came forward to describe how he was shaken down. The way he described it was that a bunch of noise complaints came in, when he contacted the city to see how he could make it right, he reached Ray Martin who suggest he hire James Caban. This story shows us just far down the corruption went. Ray Martin wasn’t anything special. There must be 100 Ray Martin’s working for the city, manipulating the levers of government for personal gain…and they did it all on their cell phones 🤣🤷‍♂️

Last night at 10pm City Hall’s General Counsel walked off the job. Their lawyer quit. That’s a bad sign.

And now the new head of the NYPD is a a former FBI official. So how do we, as New Yorkers, feel about a bunch of feds cleaning up our mess? NYC is built on it’s night-life culture. It drives everything from fashion to pop music to construction. There’s a long history of NYPD working security off-books for these kinds of spots. If you’ve read Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live, they mention Lorne engaging in this practice as far back as the 70’s. He knew his cast members were drug addicts and he didn’t want them getting in trouble so he would hire NYPD for security and they’re be able to smooth out any conflicts if officers on the job came around.

This practice of hiring NYPD officers wasn’t wholly bad but it does create a moral hazard and an opportunity for a massage extortion racket…and it has to come to an end.

Can the New York City night-life survive without a little corruption? And can a little bit of corruption actually exist in a modern city in the age of the cell phone?

sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/nyregion/eric-adams-investigations.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/nyregion/timothy-pearson-guards-migrants.html

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyc-scandal-eric-adams-banks-brothers/5793850/

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/brooklyn-bar-owner-alleges-shakedown-amid-nypd-nightlife-investigation-james-caban/5791217/