New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned a few days later. Federal agents raid His home, his brother’s home and those of other city officials were raided and their electronic devices were confiscated.
In his resignation letter shared with Fox News, Caban wrote that rank and file officers deserve leadership without disruption.
“I have therefore decided it is in the best interest of the department that I resign as commissioner,” he said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital through his attorneys. “After 30 years of service to this city, I have great respect and gratitude for its brave officers, and I must put their interests ahead of my own. I believe strongly in the important role of leaders with integrity who lead by example every day and demonstrate the difference between right and wrong. I will continue to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (left) and New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban attend a press conference at 1 Police Plaza in New York City on April 3. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during an afternoon news briefing that he had accepted Cabán’s resignation, which comes nearly 14 months after his predecessor also resigned from the department.
“This is the best decision at this time,” Adams said. “I respect his decision and wish him well.”
In a statement, Cabán’s attorneys, Russell Capon and Rebecca Donalesky, told Fox News Digital that the former commissioner made protecting New Yorkers his life’s work and is not a target of the federal investigation.
New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban has resigned amid a federal investigation. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Light Rocket via Getty Images)
“The government has informed us that he is not the target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York, and that he expects to cooperate fully with the government,” he said.
Others connected to Adams have also been dragged into the federal investigation.
New York Mayor Eric Adams makes a public safety and quality-of-life announcement at the 14th Street Y. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Light Rocket via Getty Images)
Caban’s twin brother, James, is also under investigation in connection with his nightlife consulting business, sources told Fox News Digital.
Rumors of a resignation in connection with the Caban raids have been swirling for days. Federal agents have served warrants on three other high-ranking aides to Adams same day — First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III and former NYPD officer Timothy Pearson, now an adviser to the mayor.
James Caban stands in front of the New York City skyline. (James Caban/Facebook)
Last year, federal agents seized Adams’ devices as he left an event in Manhattan and raided the home of one of his top fundraisers. Adams has denied any wrongdoing, but confirmed last month that he had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors and said he and his team were cooperating.
Adams said little from reporters on Tuesday in response to repeated questions about Caban’s qualifications for the job or whether he should resign, but said he has full confidence in the NYPD as a whole.
New York City Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban speaks at a press conference, holding chains and a lock that were removed by officers to remove protesters from Columbia University. A building was occupied and protest camp set up in support of Palestinians during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City on May 1. (Reuters/Mike Sager)
“What’s important to me, and this is why I keep saying NYPD, is because Commissioner Cabán is part of the team there, and the whole team has to do its job,” he said. “One person does not determine the success of the New York City Police Department.”
New York Post On Wednesday, news broke that a top aide to Cabán has suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party and works for a Chinese propaganda group in the U.S. It’s the latest in a series of China-linked officials in New York politics.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright appear during a press conference at City Hall in New York on December 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
Last month, prosecutors filed charges against Linda Sun, a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who is accused of being a Communist agent, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering.
Vinny Greco, another Adams aide, was also raided in connection with the campaign fundraising investigation.
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Adams appointed Cabán to become the NYPD’s first Hispanic commissioner in July 2023.
He has been replaced by interim commissioner Tom Donlon, a retired FBI agent who previously led the National Threat Center and oversaw the terrorism watch list.
Fox News’s Landon Mien and Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
