Ex-NYPD boss rejected discipline for cops who raided bar where owner says he was ‘extorted’

NEW YORK (AP) — In late August, less than a week before federal agents arrived at his home with a search warrant, New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban cleared three officers found to have engaged in misconduct during a raid on a Brooklyn bar.

It would be one of his last official acts before resigning under a cloud of suspicion, as federal prosecutors probe allegations of influence peddling within the police department and City Hall.

The previously unreported move might be unremarkable for a leader who routinely ignored recommendations for disciplinary charges against officers, but for one fact: The owner of the same Brooklyn bar recently came forward to publicly accuse the former police commissioner’s twin brother, James Caban, of trying to “extort” him in exchange for his help in smoothing relations with local police.

The bar owner, Shamel Kelly, says he is now speaking with prosecutors as a potential witness.

That investigation is one of several underway tied to the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, who faces federal charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals. Adams has pleaded not guilty.

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