“A Myriad of Procedural Flaws in the Investigation” NY IG Lucy Lang
Did then Gov. Cuomo order the transfer of the trooper, once his daughter told him of their relationship?
Why want’s Cara Kennedy-Cuomo interviewed as part of the investigation?
Can the public, or the press, review any of the investigation?
Unfortunately, we don’t know, and won’t know, the details to many of these questions because as NY IG Lucy Lang writes in her 33-page report, a proper and complete investigation either never happened, or was never recorded and documented for the IG or anyone to review, “as a result of PSB’s (State Police’s Professional Standards Bureau) failure to complete the above-described investigatory reports, the investigation was never memorialized in PSB’s record management system or in Pfeiffer’s and his supervisor’s personnel files and PSB member records.”
IG Lang was able to provide the details of what happened between Kennedy-Cuomo and Pfeiffer during their two-month long relationship. “In the late morning of May 22, 2020, then New York State Police Trooper Dane Pfeiffer received a call from one of his supervisors in the Protective Services Unit, or PSU, the unit responsible for protecting the governor and his family, ordering him to report immediately to State Police Division Headquarters. No reason was given for the order, but the Trooper thought he knew why—he was involved in a romantic relationship with one of the daughters of the then governor, Andrew Cuomo, and she had told her father the day before. His suspicion was correct.”
“Earlier that day, the then secretary to the governor had telephoned the commander of PSU and advised him of the relationship, setting off a fast-moving chain of events that culminated with a compelled interview of Pfeiffer by the commanding officer of PSU and a veteran investigator from the State Police’s Professional Standards Bureau, or PSB. Following this interview, in which Pfeiffer acknowledged the approximately two-month-long relationship, a decision was made by the first deputy superintendent of the State Police, Kevin Bruen, who bore ultimate responsibility for internal discipline, that while he would not face formal disciplinary proceedings, Pfeiffer could no longer serve on the governor’s protective detail as a member of PSU and would need to put in for a transfer to another command. At the same time,
however, Bruen decided that one of Pfeiffer’s supervisors, who also sat for a compelled interview and admitted being aware of the relationship between Pfeiffer and the governor’s daughter but doing nothing, should be subject to discipline for that conduct. Within days, Pfeiffer applied for a transfer to a Troop more than two-and-a-half hours from Albany and his home and was transferred forthwith. His supervisor, who he had told about the relationship several weeks earlier, elected to retire.”
While the IG’s report says that Pfeiffer was not disciplined for his actions, he was “punished” for what he did because of the transfer he was eventually given. Pfeiffer was asked for a transfer nearby his home to an upstate New York post, called “Siberia” by one trooper.
But it is true that Pfeiffer was not formally reprimanded for his actions. In fact, he was promoted to Sergeant shortly after the incident, with the IG writing, “According to Bruen, the PSU detail commander also informed him that he considered Pfeiffer to be a “superstar” who he had intended to recommend for promotion to the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI).”
When the NYS Troopers PBA union requested copies of Sergeant Pfeiffer statement, they were “informed by the State Police that neither a record nor recording could be found, a grievance was filed, and the Offices of the Inspector General commenced an investigation. While the audio recording of the statement was ultimately located the next day in the State Police email account of one of the interviewers and
provided to Pfeiffer and the Inspector General, the myriad procedural flaws in the investigation soon became readily apparent.”
One detail in the IG report includes, “The PSU commander also raised a possible concern to Bruen about “some hint of . . . countersurveillance” in that Pfeiffer may have “taught [the governor’s daughter] . . . how to defeat surveillance, you know, protection.”
The IG includes the actions of Melissa DeRosa, the former Secretary to then Gov. Cuomo, in the report. “Around this same time, Bruen also spoke to the secretary to the governor, who provided additional details about the relationship. Bruen testified that the secretary to the governor told him not to speak about this matter with then State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett.”
“During Pfeiffer’s detailed compelled statement, he acknowledged his romantic relationship with one of the governor’s daughters, which he claimed had begun with an off-duty telephone call around mid-March 2020, approximately two months after he first met her during an assignment. He also claimed that he never physically interacted with the governor’s daughter while he was on duty. In addition, Pfeiffer testified that he had not accepted any assignment involving the governor’s daughter after he began a relationship with her nor discussed his State Police responsibilities with her.”
“Pfeiffer also stated that he had mentioned the relationship to his supervisor in early May 2020, and had done so only after his supervisor overheard a telephone conversation that Pfeiffer was having with the governor’s daughter….In his compelled statement, Pfeiffer was asked if, at that point in time, he believed it was “professional” of him to engage in a relationship with the governor’s daughter, to which he
responded, “Yes, it was professional.”
“Pfeiffer also expressed that he was in a serious relationship, and because of that, he would not have done anything differently.”
“Pfeiffer testified to the Inspector General that he felt many of the questions asked during his compelled statement were about his personal life and were “inappropriate,” which made for a “hugely uncomfortable situation.” Pfeiffer expressed his belief that only those questions about “having sexual contact with anybody while on duty” were appropriate because such conduct is “covered” in State Police policies.
Pfeiffer’s supervisor retired in good standing without any personnel complaint pending, according to the report.
The incompetence, or willful neglect, by the State Police investigation, thwarted the IG from conducting a proper review. “However, according to the State Police response, Pfeiffer’s compelled statement could not be found….Two days later, on December 8, 2021, the NYS Troopers PBA filed a grievance seeking production of the transcript. The next day, the former PSB captain who conducted the interview located a copy of the audio recording of Pfeiffer’s statement in his email account and a copy was provided by the State Police to Pfeiffer as well as the Inspector General’s Office.”
“As a result of PSB’s failure to document all investigative steps, the Inspector General cannot comprehensively review the matter, making it impossible to fully evaluate the thoroughness and propriety of the investigation. Instead, it appears that PSB took Pfeiffer’s and his supervisor’s statements as the truth, without anything more.”
“The PSU commander testified that he looked into “other things,” such as whether Pfeiffer was sneaking into the Executive Mansion or communicating with the governor’s daughter while he was working. However, without any report or evidence of these or other investigative steps—such as interviewing other
witnesses, and reviewing telephone, surveillance camera footage, and GPS records—the Inspector General can neither fully corroborate or discredit Pfeiffer’s and his supervisor’s statements.”
Andrew Cuomo resigned in August 2021. Perhaps a member of the media can FOIL Pfeiffer’s audio tape and provide a transcript to the public for review. Ms. Kenney-Cuomo’s role in this matter should also be reviewed and reported on in more detail.
