SUB-HEADING: "Ex-NYPD deputy inspector accused of getting Midtown bar to delete video in cover-up of booze-fueled cop car crash."
GIST: "A former NYPD deputy inspector was indicted on Wednesday for allegedly trying to cover up a drunk driving incident in 2022, according to prosecutors.
Paul Zangrilli, 44, then an NYPD deputy inspector, allegedly let his girlfriend, Nikole Rupple, 35, drive his unmarked police car after they had been drinking for hours, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
While Zangrilli was in the passenger seat, Rupple allegedly hit a delivery cab and fled the scene, according to court documents. Later, Zangrilli drove the same NYPD car while intoxicated, lied about the incident, and tried to erase crucial video evidence.
“This alleged behavior was incredibly dangerous, leading to injuries for one cab driver and putting the safety of many other drivers and pedestrians at risk. Furthermore, this NYPD Deputy Inspector, then a Commanding Officer, allegedly went to great lengths to cover up the incident to avoid responsibility,” Bragg said. “We will continue to hold public servants accountable when they violate the public trust.”
According to court documents, on August 16, 2022, around 5:40 p.m., Zangrilli, who was then the Commanding Officer of the NYPD’s 5th Precinct, drove with Rupple to the bar American Whiskey near Penn Station. At the bar, Zangrilli allegedly drank five shots and seven beers, while Rupple had seven shots and three beers. They left the bar together around 8:40 p.m. Rupple allegedly drove the NYPD-issued vehicle north on 10th Avenue with Zangrilli in the front passenger seat.
A few minutes later, Rupple crashed the car into the back of a livery cab at the intersection of West 30th Street and 10th Avenue injuring the cab driver’s back and neck, and damaging the back of his car, according to court records.
Rupple then allegedly sped away from the scene, then pulled over a few blocks later to switch seats with Zangrilli. Zangrilli continued driving the vehicle northbound.
The cab driver signaled for help from a uniformed officer in a marked police vehicle, prosecutors stated. As the light turned green, Zangrilli began to drive away, with the cab driver following closely behind. The officer then pulled Zangrilli’s car over, while the victim continued to follow.
The uniformed officer instructed the cab driver to submit an accident report at a police precinct after he informed her that both Zangrilli and Rupple were intoxicated and had fled the scene of the accident, according to court documents.
In the presence of the officer, and even after she left, Zangrilli allegedly repeatedly offered the victim $500 and $1,000 instead of exchanging insurance information.
The victim called 911 to report the incident. Meanwhile, Zangrilli contacted a duty captain to come to the scene. Zangrilli falsely claimed to the captain that he was driving to work when the collision happened and that he pulled over safely as soon as he could.
He didn’t mention that Rupple, who was now hiding away from the scene, had been in the car or that they had been drinking.
The Captain told an NYPD inspector about the incident and, believing Zangrilli’s allegedly false story, told a sergeant to fill out the collision report.
Later, Zangrilli drove with Rupple to the 5th Precinct. Zangrilli allegedly signed in for work there and then called the owner of American Whiskey, asking him to delete the security camera footage from that night. The video technician deleted the footage the next morning, according to court documents.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau (“IAB”) was notified of the situation and at around 10:50 p.m., Zangrilli falsely told an inspector that he had gone to his Rockland County home, according to court documents.
When the IAB arrived at his home around midnight to check if he was fit for duty and not intoxicated, Zangrilli wasn’t there. He was later found at Rupple’s apartment. Several days later, IAB executed a search warrant for American Whiskey’s video surveillance system. IAB and the DA’s Office were able to recover and extract the video surveillance footage from the day of the incident, prosecutors said.
Zangrilli is now charged with tampering with physical evidence, falsifying business records in the first degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, official misconduct, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol.
Rupple is charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, with personal injury."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/ex-nypd-inspector-accused-of-deleting-video-cover-up-crashPUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
---------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
————————————————————————————
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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