De Blasio’s Security Chief Admits Hindering Corruption Investigation

The one-time head of security for former mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded guilty in Manhattan on Wednesday to deleting text messages and refusing to give investigators his cellphone during a probe into Mr. de Blasio’s misuse of city funds.

Howard Redmond, who as an inspector led the New York Police Department’s Executive Protection Unit, had tried to keep the device from the Department of Investigation, which were conducting the probe.

Mr. Redmond, 58, who had been charged by the Manhattan district attorney, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of tampering with physical evidence. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of official misconduct and two counts of obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanor charges.

“Inspector Redmond engaged in a clear and brazen pattern of obstruction and tampering,” Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement. “Position and rank do not exempt anyone from cooperating and participating with a law enforcement investigation.”

The political and personal services rendered by Mr. Redmond’s unit were detailed in a Department of Investigation report in 2021 when Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, had just three months left in office. At the time, Mr. de Blasio, who also had flirted with presidential politics, was considering a run for governor. During his two terms as mayor, he had faced several investigations into his fund-raising. Prosecutors in 2017 raised concerns about his practices, but did not bring criminal charges.

Mr. Redmond, whose unit was assigned to protect the mayor, also became a target for investigators. As part of his plea deal, he had to provide proof that he had left the Police Department, Samantha Dworken, an assistant district attorney, said in court.

“He did not resign or retire, he was fired. The defendant’s obstructive conduct in this case ended his career,” Ms. Dworken said.

He ignored requests from Police Department lawyers and flouted the oversight authority of the watchdog Department of Investigation, she added, calling him “evasive.”

Before Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Redmond, who wore a blue suit and crisp white shirt, silently strode past about 20 reporters and photographers gathered in the hallway leading to the courtroom. He ignored their questions.

But in court, Mr. Redmond spoke. An apology, and 10 days of community service, were also part of his plea deal.

“I’d like to apologize to the Department of Investigation for not taking their investigation seriously, and not providing them with the information that they needed,” he told Judge Laurie Peterson.

The charges stem from the Department of Investigation’s look at how Mr. de Blasio had used his mayoral security detail for political and personal purposes, including in 2019 when members accompanied him on the presidential campaign trail. Those trips cost the city nearly $320,000, according to the report released by the agency in October 2021.

Investigators tried for a year and a half to obtain access to Mr. Redmond’s texts and encrypted messages, the report said.

Instead, Mr. Redmond had deleted his communications, Margaret Garnett, who then was commissioner of the department, said at a news conference after the report was released. When Mr. Redmond was told to surrender his cellphone, he tried to destroy the device, she said.

Mr. Redmond “sought to thwart this investigation,” the report said. Ms. Garnett told reporters she had referred Mr. Redmond’s conduct to the district attorney’s office for a criminal investigation into obstruction of justice.

On Wednesday, Louis La Pietra, Mr. Redmond’s lawyer, said his client has acknowledged his mistakes, “and for those mistakes he’s paid a great price.”

His unceremonious dismissal was “the ultimate humiliation for a police officer” who had worked for the force about 30 years, said Mr. La Pietra.