‘Booze Patrol’ Sheriffs Had ‘Man-Cave’ Full of Stolen COVID Liquor — But Escaped Criminal Charges

A group of city sheriffs drank liquor confiscated from bars and clubs that were raided for violating pandemic shutdown rules inside a “man cave” where boxes were placed to block surveillance cameras, according to an internal investigative report obtained by THE CITY.

The sheriffs, who all worked for the city’s Department of Finance, brought the drinks, including some high-end bottles, into a secret shed inside a storage area in Long Island City, the Department of Investigation probe named “Booze Patrol” found.

“DOI substantiated allegations that deputy sheriffs removed seized alcohol for personal use or gain,” the DOI “ Closing Memo ” summarizing the probe said.

Last May, THE CITY reported that a dozen city sheriffs were suspended for 30 days without pay for their varying roles in the alleged theft of those items.

But Ryan Lavis, the chief spokesperson for the city’s Department of Finance (DOF), repeatedly refused to detail what the sheriffs were charged with or publicly disclose their names.

And DOF Commissioner Preston Niblack has never talked about the scandal, and declined repeated requests for an interview.

THE CITY obtained the full investigative file from DOI after filing a Freedom of Information Law request.

DOI forwarded its findings to the Queens District Attorney which has jurisdiction over the area.

But Queens DA Melinda Katz and her team “declined to prosecute,” according to the DOI report, which also cited surveillance videos of some of the sheriffs bringing the bottles of booze to their cars.

Asked why she didn’t pursue the case, Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for the office, said, “We conducted an extensive investigation and concluded that there was not legally sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.”

Meanwhile, one of the sheriffs involved in the case, Derek Skuzenski, was hired earlier this month as commissioner of public safety with a yearly salary of $140,000 by North Hempstead, L.I.

Skuzenski resigned from his role as a city undersheriff before his internal disciplinary case was brought before an administrative law judge, records show.

A spokesperson for North Hempstead said the township did its “customary due diligence” before hiring Skuzenski but indicated it had no idea of his alleged involvement in the booze skimming.

“At no time during that process were we made aware of any cause for concern,” spokesperson Umberto Mignardi told THE CITY.

“We do take any employee allegations seriously and we will be investigating these claims further,” he said.

Skuzenski declined to comment.

Fully Stocked

DOI’s investigation was triggered by an anonymous complaint filed on Jan. 26, 2021 alleging the sheriffs created a “man cave” in the garage of their Long Island City garage, according to the memo obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request.

According to the complainant, the sheriffs strategically placed boxes to block the surveillance cameras from looking into the “man-cave” area.

The tipster also said sheriffs hung out inside the windowless storage container smoking hookah, cigars and cigarettes taken as evidence from stores they’d busted.

The “man cave” had a refrigerator, cooler, and locked file cabinet, according to the DOI report. The photographs from inside show several bottles of alcohol in the file cabinet, hookah and hookah accessories inside the cooler and file cabinet, and beer, wine, soda, seltzer, and snacks inside the refrigerator.

DOI’s probe included site visits, a review of records and video footage, analysis of phone and financial records, and interviews.

Some of the sheriffs were caught on surveillance cameras outside the man cave putting bottles of liquor into their cars before driving off, according to the DOI report citing surveillance videos from the area.

During the pandemic, the Sheriff’s Office conducted enforcement raids based on tips from the mayor’s office and City Council members, according to one of the sheriff’s interviewed during the DOI probe.

They closed unlicensed establishments and seized alcohol , tobacco, and drugs found at the spots. The confiscated contraband, which was mostly alcohol, was transferred to the parking garage at 30-10 Starr Avenue and stored in and around an evidence container.

The DOI file reveals that DOF brought internal disciplinary charges against the dozen sheriff office staffers involved in the booze pilfering.

Seven employees resigned before the charges went to trial at the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), which oversees disciplinary cases for most municipal workers.

They are: Sgt. Richard Leblond, Deputy Sheriffs Rueshiem Jones, David Singh, Kamil Krawczyk, Randy Alvarado, and Investigator Michael Trano, according to the DOI report .

Three cases went to a disciplinary hearing headed by administrative law judges who oversee trials and make recommendations based on witness testimony and evidence submitted.

They were: Sgt. Furney Canteen II and Deputy Sheriffs Elisson Jimenez and Timothy Lo.

In one of those cases, the judge recommended the firing of deputy sheriff Jimenez.

“Petitioner [DOF] established that respondent [Jimenez] stole contraband from the evidence storage container on two occasions in early 2021,” wrote Administrative Law Judge Michael Turilli.

Jimenez has appealed the decision before the city’s Civil Service Commission, according to his lawyer, David Hirsch, who also represented Canteen and Lo.

He was charged with 12 incidents of stealing liquor but was only found at fault in two cases, Hirsch noted.

The administrative law judges handling the other two cases — Canteen and Lo —  recommended tossing the charges, OATH records show.

Canteen argued that he never stole any liquor and any surveillance video of him holding a bottle was just personal booze he brought to the area as a gift to a colleague.

He was unable to produce any $83 credit card receipt or bank statement that specifically corroborated that purchase, according to Turilli, the administrative law judge who also oversaw the Canteen case.

“More importantly, respondent did not provide any reason for why he would have purchased such an expensive gift for a co-worker and the video evidence did not comport with a gift exchange between co-workers,” Turilli wrote.

Still, the DOF failed to “establish the essential elements of its case,” Turilli ruled, noting the agency heavily relied on “insufficient” surveillance video.

Lo and Canteen have since been reinstated after Niblack, the DOF commissioner, accepted the OATH recommendation. They will also be paid back for the 30 days they were suspended without pay when they were initially charged last year.

Serving Suggestions

The sheriffs were supposed to keep track of everything that was confiscated and detail from where and when it was taken with vouchers.

That never happened, according to the DOI report.

The probe was complicated because the alcohol and other items confiscated during the COVID raids were never vouchered in 2020 and 2021, Maureen Kokeas, who served as the first Deputy Sheriff during that period and is now the commanding officer of the department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, testified during an OATH hearing.

“I’m thrilled with the report and recommendation with regards to the Lo and Canteen matters,” Hirsch said. “They asserted all along that they were never guilty and from day one they were looking to have their chance to prove their innocence in court.”

OATH has the lowest standard of proof of any court, he added.

“DOF only had to show that more likely than not their activity arose to the level of some sort of discipline or criminality,” he said. “They failed to do so at a 51% level.”

The city’s top sheriff, Anthony Miranda, declined comment.

The investigation began before Miranda was appointed in May 2022 and he wasn’t told about it for at least three months, according to a source familiar with the unit.

The investigation into the booze busts come as the Sheriff’s Office has taken on a larger role cracking down on smoke shops illicitly selling cannabis.

As part of its “Booze Patrol” investigation, DOI issued 13 recommendations for better evidence tracking and maintaining.

The recommendations include establishing an evidence and property unit and stricter guidelines for tracking all seized items.

The DOF is working to implement the suggested changes, said Lavis, the agency spokesperson.

But city agencies frequently just ignore DOI recommendations, as THE CITY reported last year.

DOF has no plans to return any of the confiscated items still remaining in the warehouse, according to the source familiar with the unit.

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