New York sure seems to have been a hotbed of high-stakes raids, investigations, resignations, and prosecutions of late — enough to make one wonder what exactly is going on in the Empire State, and particularly in New York City.
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In early September, we reported on the FBI raid of then-NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s home, immediately on the heels of the homes of some of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides.
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Those raids came soon after the stunning revelation that Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), had been indicted on charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.
A week after the raid on Caban’s home, he resigned, and Thomas Donlon became interim commissioner. On Monday, two former New York City Fire Department chiefs were arrested for allegedly soliciting bribes.
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Now comes news that Donlon has also had his home raided by federal authorities.
Thomas Donlon, who became the interim commissioner just one week ago after the resignation of his predecessor, issued a statement late Saturday through the police department.
“On Friday, September 20, federal authorities executed search warrants at my residences. They took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department,” the statement said.
“This is not a department matter, and the department will not be commenting,” he added.
The statement did not address what the investigation was about, which federal authorities were involved or what materials had been seized.
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So what was Donlon doing 20 years ago? Working in counterterrorism for the FBI.
Donlon spent decades with the FBI, where he worked on terrorism cases including the investigation into the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and a 2000 attack on a U.S. Navy destroyer.
Roughly 20 years ago he was a top counterterrorism official for the FBI in New York.
From 2009 to 2010, Donlon led New York state’s Office of Homeland Security before going into the private sector security industry.
Unless and until Donlon is charged and an indictment made public, we’re left to speculate as to the nature of the materials seized — and whether and to what extent this latest action is connected to the others.
As noted above, the raid on Donlon comes amid a flurry of federal law enforcement activity surrounding numerous high-profile New York officials.
Federal agents also have seized phones in recent weeks from the head of the city’s public schools, a top deputy mayor, Adams’ top public safety adviser and others. Previously, investigators searched homes connected to Adams’ top campaign fundraiser and the Democrat’s Asian affairs director.
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One gets the sense that something rather significant is afoot. For now, we’re left to wonder what exactly that might be.