Records concerning investigation of Stephen E. Gardell
| Submitted | Feb. 9, 2021 |
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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:
All records mentioning, pertaining to, or discussing any investigation into the conduct of Stephen E. Gardell, and all records of action taken by the Office of Comptroller and the New York City Police Pension Fund in response.
To clarify scope: Gardell was former Treasurer of the Detectives Endowment Association (DEA) and a trustee of the DEA's Annuity Fund. Gardell was charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York with participating in a number of schemes in concert with members of organized crime, dating approximately to the years 1999 through 2000. Indictment was announced jointly by the U.S. Attorney, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Bureau of Investigation on June 14, 2000. Gardell pled guilty in November 2001 to the charge of wire fraud.
Examples of responsive records include (not exclusively): subpoenas, warrants, or other communications from federal law enforcement; minutes of the Police Pension Fund; official memoranda; minutes of meetings; audit reports and related materials; and exhibits for review of the Comptroller, Police Pension Fund trustees, and trustees of the DEA Annuity Fund.
Stephen E. Gardell is known to be deceased as of 2015; please see attached PDF of published obituary for proof. Privacy interests are generally diminished post-mortem, and records should be released in the public interest of understanding this historic case of corruption and the Office of Comptroller's response.
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: Office of the Comptroller of New York City
On February 9, 2021, you submitted a FOIL request for the following records:
All records mentioning, pertaining to, or discussing any investigation into the conduct of Stephen E. Gardell, and all records of action taken by the Office of Comptroller and the New York City Police Pension Fund in response. To clarify scope: Gardell was former Treasurer of the Detectives Endowment Association (DEA) and a trustee of the DEA's Annuity Fund. Gardell was charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York with participating in a number of schemes in concert with members of organized crime, dating approximately to the years 1999 through 2000. Indictment was announced jointly by the U.S. Attorney, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Bureau of Investigation on June 14, 2000. Gardell pled guilty in November 2001 to the charge of wire fraud. Examples of responsive records include (not exclusively): subpoenas, warrants, or other communications from federal law enforcement; minutes of the Police Pension Fund; official memoranda; minutes of meetings; audit reports and related materials; and exhibits for review of the Comptroller, Police Pension Fund trustees, and trustees of the DEA Annuity Fund.
For the reasons detailed below, your request is denied.
N.Y. Public Officers Law § 89(3)(a) requires that a FOIL request "reasonably describe" the records sought. To deny a request on the ground that it fails to reasonably describe the requested records, an agency must establish that "the descriptions were insufficient for purposes of locating and identifying the documents sought." Konigsberg v. Coughlin, 68 N.Y.2d 245, 249 (1986). Your broad request for "all records discussing any investion into the conduct of Stephen E. Gardell" is "insufficient for the purposes of locating and identifying the records sought." Id. Based on my review of your request and public information regarding Stephen E. Gardell, it appears that any investigation related to this matter would have taken place over 20 years ago. Given the remoteness in time, staff are not able to determine who, if anyone, may have been involved in matters related to Stephen E. Gardell. If possible, please provide a date range for the records that you seek and specify the persons by name or job title that you believe would have been involved in such an investigation at this agency. You may consider reviewing the agency's website for further information about this agency's functions: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/about/duties-of-the-comptroller/ particularly since your request appears to presume that this agency is involved in criminal investigations.
Please note, this agency audits city agencies, not individuals. This agency does not conduct criminal investigations. Audit reports dating back to January 1, 2002 are all publicly available here: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/?fwp_type=audit. I searched the agency's publicly available audit reports and did not locate any mention of Stephen Gardell.
I checked the agency's claims database and did not locate any claims relevant to Stephen Gardell.
This agency does not maintain Police Pension fund meeting minutes. I suggest you submit that portion of your request to the Police Pension Fund.
Under NYS Public Officers Law § 89(4), you have the right to appeal this determination. Staff are working from home so appeals must be emailed to FOIL@comptroller.nyc.gov<mailto:FOIL@comptroller.nyc.gov>. Appeals will be forwarded to the agency's appeals officer.
If you have any questions about this response, you may submit your questions to the same email address.
Sincerely,
NYC Comptroller's Office FOIL Unit
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