NEW YORK CITY — Federal and city authorities raided the New York Police Department’s School Safety Division offices on Thursday as part of a probe into a potential bribery scheme involving city contracts.
Several sources say agents from the FBI and the Department of Investigation were looking for documents related to a Florida tech firm that received more than $67,000 from the department last year to pilot its panic button app in five city schools, Yahoo News reports. The company was listed as a client of Terence Banks, the brother of outgoing Schools Chancellor David Banks and former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks. All three brothers had their phones seized during a raid last month as investigators work to determine if city contractors were steered towards companies repped by Terence Banks’ consulting firm, Pearl Alliance.
Kevin Taylor, an NYPD inspector who used to be the School Safety Division’s commanding officer, also had his cell phone seized in Thursday’s raid, several sources told Yahoo News. The NYPD confirmed Taylor has since been placed on modified duty. Taylor was the division’s top cop last October when he told the City Council that the panic button app would be piloted. The city ultimately chose not to move forward with the technology.
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Sources also say the raid is tied to an investigation into Tim Pearson, an ex-NYPD official who served as a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams. Pearson is accused of choosing contractors in exchange for kickbacks, and allegedly urged Taylor to have safety agents install the app on their phones, according to the NY Post. He resigned last week after his electronics were seized by the feds on Sept. 4.
Prior to Thursday’s raid, four sexual harassment lawsuits and conflict of interest accusations have been levied against Pearson during his tenure. One lawsuit alleges Pearson told employees within a municipal services assessment unit he ran that he was looking for kickbacks.
“People are doing very well on these contracts,” the lawsuit claims Pearson said. “I have to get mine. Where are my crumbs?”
