State Police investigators are probing whether troopers in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s security detail have been cheating taxpayers by claiming they’re on the clock when they’re actually blowing off their shifts, The Post has learned.
The probe is focused on members of the governor’s detail stationed in New York City — and those troopers under scrutiny have already been removed from their post and could face disciplinary action if the allegations are confirmed, officials and law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.
The governor’s detail includes a rotating group of more than 40 troopers and supervisors, sources said.
The New York State Troopers’ Internal Affairs Bureau is probing claims that at least some of them had their records falsified so that they could still get paid even when they weren’t working, sources said.
Some of the troopers are specifically accused of having colleagues sign them in on timesheets and then simply not showing up for their shifts, sources said.
The governor’s security detail is the focus of an internal state-police probe. Larry MaranoIAB investigators grilled several troopers in Hochul’s detail last week about the allegations, with more officers expected to be questioned later this week, according to sources.
The probers also are reviewing everyone’s timesheet, sources said.
In a statement Monday, state police spokesman William Duffy confirmed that the agency “has launched an administrative investigation into time and attendance issues involving members of the Protective Services Unit.
“Integrity is one of our core values and we thoroughly investigate any claims of wrongdoing,” Duffy said. “If our investigation determines that our policies were violated, the state police will take appropriate disciplinary action.”
Hochul, who was elected last year after taking office in 2021 to replace disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is assigned three different security details to protect her: in Albany, New York City and when she is at her home in Buffalo.
The sources said each of the Albany and New York City details consists of four troopers and one supervisor when they’re on duty, with the details drawn from the larger group.
Gov. Hochul has more than 40 state troopers in her revolving security detail for when she is in New York City, Albany and Buffalo. Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty ImagesMembers of the same rotating group guard Hochul when she’s at home in Buffalo, although it is unclear how many personnel that involves.
The state police said it does not confirm details of security deployments or how many troopers are assigned to each location for safety reasons.
The allegations of time-clock cheating surfaced earlier this month, the sources said.
Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays told The Post on Monday, “We take any allegation of misconduct very seriously, and there must be accountability for any violation of the public’s trust.”
Additional reporting by Zach Williams in Albany
