Personnel and disciplinary records, subjects: Lt. Paul Dean, et al.
| Tracking # |
2020-056-08603 |
| Submitted | June 12, 2020 |
| Due | June 19, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | June 24, 2022 |
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Communications
From: T. McElwee
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
Personnel and disciplinary records with regard to the following NYPD personnel, who were arrested by the FBI and Internal Affairs in 2017:
Lieutenant Paul Dean
Sergeant David Villanueva
Officer Robert Espinel
Officer Richard Ochetal
In addition, the personnel and disciplinary records of the following former member of the NYPD of the force, who was a key participant in the scheme:
Detective Gaetano Valastro (retired in 1999)
Divisions that may hold responsive records include Internal Affairs and Employment Management; however, any record used to evaluate performance toward the subject's continued employment or promotion should be considered responsive.
It is the requesting party's understanding that pursuant to legislation signed by the Governor of the State of New York, the law that prevented disclosure of this material (Civil Rights Law Section 50-a) has been repealed and all such records are now covered by the Freedom of Information Law.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Law as it has been amended by aforementioned legislation, records that may be released include "the complaints, allegations, and charges against an employee; the name of the employee complained of or charged; the transcript of any disciplinary trial or hearing, including any exhibits introduced at such trial or hearing; the disposition of any disciplinary proceeding; and the final written opinion or memorandum supporting the disposition and discipline imposed including the agency's complete factual findings and its analysis of the conduct and appropriate discipline of the covered employee."
Under the standard set by multiple court rulings, Freedom of Information Law uses a "balancing test" method of weighing privacy interests favoring redaction/denial vs. the public interest in disclosure. This matter is of clear public interest for the following reasons: the persons involved were publicly named as defendants in an FBI operation targeting police corruption at the License Division of the NYPD, that involved bribery in the issuance of firearms permits. Per report (attached), Lt. Dean claimed in court that persons who the License Division granted pistol permits included the President of the United States Donald J. Trump, his son, and the President's onetime lawyer Michael Cohen. The records requested will illuminate how a corrupt scheme that potentially involved notable public figures worked and was addressed by the NYPD internally.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
T. McElwee
From: New York City Police Department
Your request FOIL-2020-056-08603 has been successfully submitted to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
The details of your request are shown below.
Request Type: Other Request
Requester's Contact Information
Name:
T. Mcelwee
Title:
Not provided
Organization:
Not provided
Email:
requests@muckrock.com (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)
Phone Number:
Not provided
Fax Number:
Not provided
Street Address (line 1):
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Street Address (line 2):
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City:
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State:
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Zip Code:
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You can view the request and take any necessary action at the following webpage: https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603)
From: New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has acknowledged your FOIL request FOIL-2020-056-08603. You can expect a response on or about Thursday, October 29, 2020.
Additional Information:
Your request has been assigned to Detective Halk (646-610-6449). Note: Due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic there may be extensive delays, lasting up to one year, in determining your request.
Please visit FOIL-2020-056-08603 to view additional information and take any necessary action.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 12, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 29, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has responded to your FOIL request FOIL-2020-056-08603 with the following file(s). (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603) NOTE: You must be logged in to your OpenRecords account to access the file(s). If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to do so when the link is selected. The file(s) listed below will not be publicly available on the OpenRecords portal.
* 2006: PO_Espinel_915676.pdf (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/response/1895088)
Please visit FOIL-2020-056-08603 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603)
From: New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has extended the time to respond to your FOIL request FOIL-2020-056-08603 for the following reasons: (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603)
You can expect a response on or about Friday, June 24, 2022.
Additional Information:
Our office is continuing to investigate your request. Please be advised that as a result of Department-wide staffing issues, the receipt of records from the respective custodians of those records, and the subsequent review of those records by the FOIL Unit, has taken longer than estimated, resulting in a backlog of pending requests. Accordingly, as this office is continuing to investigate the request, a determination shall be issued upon receipt of the records and after a thorough review of any possible exemptions pursuant to Public Officers Law ยง87(2). It is estimated that, based on the volume of requests received by the NYPD, the determination shall be issued within 90 business days of this message.
Please visit FOIL-2020-056-08603 to view additional information and take any necessary action. (https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2020-056-08603)
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on June 24, 2022. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on June 24, 2022. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on June 24, 2022. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #2020-056-08603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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