Safety Issues And Fraudulent OT Pay Under Scrutiny

Federal officials are investigating the abuse of overtime pay received by three police officers in the New York Police Department’s Aviation unit when Winston Faison was the Chief of the unit. NYPD transferred Faison to the Transportation Bureau after the FAA conducted a surprise investigation into safety issues in the unit, and he has since retired.

The investigation was prompted by internal reports by former NYPD aviation officers who now work at the FAA.

The investigation has expanded into a probe of allegedly improper overtime pay approved by Faison for rescue training that used FEMA grant money for maritime safety training. The officers involved were reported as having done no training at all to merit the overtime pay.

Lt. Lakeisha Smith, Lt. Winston Wright, and Detective Tanesha Facey received up to 20 overtime hours per month according to police department sources who said, “They’re literally doing nothing for the training whatsoever except putting in overtime slips.”

For 2024, Smith’s total pay was $185,405, compared to $122,892 the previous year – the increase was due to overtime, shift differentials, and holiday work. Facey’s pay during the same period went from $115,923 to $159,249, and Wright’s pay increased from $135,595 to $177,654. Those numbers are from state payroll data.

None of the three are pilots or maintenance technicians, and none have anything to do with the maritime training program. 

The FAA went to the unit’s headquarters in early July and demanded to be shown safety records related to a hard landing by Faison in the unit’s helicopter as well as substantial damage to the aircraft during a hovering maneuver.

Faison has several hundred hours of flight time, and also was reported to have taken the unit’s Bell 429 on an off-the-books trip that was improperly entered in the aircraft log book. He also failed to get permission for the trip and made a false notation about where he took the helicopter.

The investigation of the aviation unit is under a larger investigation that also involves the FBI looking into Jeffrey Maddrey, the former NYPD Chief who is alleged to have paid a subordinate overtime for sexual favors. A law enforcement source said, “It’s a massive investigation.”

FMI:  www.nyc.gov/