NYS top cop Kevin Bruen resigns after reveal of Hochul HR scandal probe
New York State Police Superintendent Kevin Bruen has announced that he will step down following media reports that he improperly shielded a staffer with whom he had a “close personal relationship” from human resources complaints.
“Today I accepted the resignation of State Police Superintendent Kevin Bruen. I thank him for his years of public service. First Deputy Superintendent Steven Nigrelli will serve as Acting Superintendent on an interim basis, as we conduct a thorough search for a Superintendent who can lead this department in its important work,” Hochul said in a statement.
Bruen, who was appointed to the post by disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June 2021, will officially step down from the post on Oct. 19, according to state police.
The announcement, first reported Friday by the Albany Times Union, comes days after Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed to the upstate newspaper that her administration was investigating the matter.
“This is an individual I inherited,” Hochul told the Times Union.
The Democratic governor’s office had quietly put Bruen under the microscope after his former human resources director, MaryEllen Tedesco, 60, resigned last month amid another state probe — into her handling of a wheelchair-bound prospective employee, sources told The Post.
Bruen, 59, reportedly declined to act on multiple reports of wrongdoing about Tedesco.
Hochul had been planning to fire the Cuomo appointee — but not until after the Nov. 8 election, in which she faces Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin — and replace him with First Deputy Superintendent Steven Nigrelli.
“She doesn’t need another scandal before the election,” an Albany source said of Hochul’s reasoning.
Nigrelli is a longtime associate of the governor and her husband Bill Hochul, who served as the US attorney in Western New York under President Barack Obama.
“I’d like to take the time to acknowledge someone I’ve known for a long time, someone I look up to, and thank Gov. Kathy Hochul for your leadership throughout the years,” Nigrelli gushed at an Aug. 31 press conference.
“For your leadership on this topic, Governor — your laser-like focus on eradicating guns, illegal guns and gun crimes in our communities. We appreciated that in the State Police,” he said.
Hochul has faced growing criticism over alleged pay-to-play schemes involving campaign donors in recent weeks – including one who landed a $637 million no-bid deal with the state for COVID-19 rapid tests.
“She doesn’t need another scandal before the election,” an Albany source told The Post this week about Bruen.
Results of the probe are unlikely to become public ahead of the Nov. 8 election against Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin from Long Island.
A recent report by state Inspector General Lucy Lang bashed state police for mishandling an internal discipline case involving a state trooper who dated a daughter of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo while he remained in power.
The union representing rank-and-file troopers nonetheless offered honeyed words for Bruen as he entered his final days as superintendent.
“Superintendent Bruen has helped move the New York State Police forward during difficult times, including social unrest and the deployment of Troopers to help the men, women and children of Puerto Rico in the aftermath Hurricane Fiona. We wish Superintendent Bruen well in his future endeavors,” reads a Friday statement from the New York State Troopers PBA.