Jessica Tisch, Ben Tucker are on the short list for permanent NYPD commissioner post, sources say
NEW YORK -- As New York City Mayor Eric Adams cleans house in the wake of a burgeoning number of corruption investigations, he is close to picking a permanent police commissioner.
Adams hasn't yet made up his mind about who the next head of the NYPD will be, but one of the frontrunners is Jessica Tisch, the current Department of Sanitation commissioner, City Hall sources told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer.
Tisch, who served as the NYPD's deputy commissioner for information technology during the de Blasio administration, is on the short list, sources said. So is former First Deputy Police Commissioner Ben Tucker.
Whoever gets the job would be the fourth person to helm the NYPD during the nearly three years Adams has been mayor. His first commissioner, Keechant Sewell, resigned and was replaced by Edward Caban, who resigned and was replaced on an interim basis by Tom Donlon.
It's unclear exactly when the mayor will make his decision, but it could come as early as next week.
At least 10 top NYC officials have left their posts
Just three weeks ago, Tisch announced a crackdown on ghost cars with the mayor and Donlon, saying 15 uniformed NYPD officers had been detailed to DSNY.
"These cars are a pain in the ass," Adams said on Sept. 18.
What's also been a pain for the mayor is the need to replace members of his administration who have been embroiled in as many as five on going corruption investigations. At least 10 top city officials have either resigned, been forced out, or been fired in the past month.
Just this week, the mayor replaced First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, whose cellphones were confiscated by the feds, with Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
Now, he's looking to replace Donlon, who was named the interim NYPD head after then-Commissioner Caban resigned on Sept. 12.
Nine days after Donlon was appointed, the feds searched his homes and confiscated documents in his possession from 20 years ago, when he was a Homeland Security official.
Investigations into NYC's top officials
Following a federal investigation, Adams was indicted on Sept. 26 and pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy to solicit a contribution from a foreign national. The indictment alleges Adams accepted illegal campaign donations.
Meanwhile, sources say an investigation involving Edward Caban and his twin brother, James Caban, is related to allegations James worked as a fixer for restaurants and nightclubs that were having trouble with the NYPD. Sources told CBS News New York that investigation is unrelated to Adams' indictment.
An investigation into former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III reportedly involves his brother Terence Banks, who runs a firm that represents companies that have contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with a number of city agencies.
