Adrian Schoolcraft: So Who’s Crazy Now?

August 23, 2010
In a bizarre attempt at damage control, police department officials offered whistleblower cop Adrian Schoolcraft a sweetheart deal if he rejoined the NYPD fold.
The offer — conveyed through such unlikely intermediaries as a reporter at the cop-critical Village Voice and a Bronx captain without sufficient rank to guarantee such a deal — featured a cushy job in the canine unit for the animal-loving Schoolcraft.
It also allowed Schoolcraft to testify against two bosses: Inspector Steven Mauriello, whom Schoolcraft accused of fudging crime statistics, and Deputy Chief Michael Marino, who allegedly directed a police posse to bring Schoolcraft to Jamaica Hospital’s psychiatric ward, where he was kept against his will for six days.
According to Schoolcraft’s lawyer, Jon Norinsberg, the offer was presented to him by Captain Brandon del Pozo, the commanding officer of the 50th precinct in the Bronx.
According to Norinsberg, del Pozo told him the offer had the approval of Deputy Commissioner Julie Schwartz, the Department Advocate, and of “people in the office of Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives, Michael Farrell.”
Farrell and del Pozo did not return calls. Schwartz was said to be on vacation.
A July 26th email from del Pozo to Norinsberg (see below), advises him to contact Schwartz directly.
The email also says that Internal Affairs Group I — the unit that investigates high-ranking officers — is investigating Schoolcraft’s claims that the department retaliated against him for reporting corruption.