A group of New York Police Department (NYPD) leaders are reportedly using department cars to avoid congestion‑pricing tolls on their way to work, a whistleblower lawsuit says. The federal complaint states that while ordinary commuters pay steep fees, certain officers are using NYPD vehicles for their personal commutes and thereby sidestep the same charges.
According to the court documents, Lieutenant Joseph Abdelmessih names nine senior officers he accuses of “utilizing NYPD vehicles for their personal commutes and thereby dodging congestion‑pricing tolls that everyday New Yorkers must pay.” The suit was filed in Manhattan’s Supreme Court.
Abdelmessih himself was the target of a February New York Post investigation that highlighted his questionable commuting habits—parking a Mercedes in Staten Island and driving a department car into Manhattan during working hours. The report estimated that he saved roughly $20,000 in tolls. Following the exposé, the officer was told to stop, questioned by Internal Affairs, charged with improper use of a department vehicle, and reassigned to Brooklyn.
In the lawsuit, Abdelmessih asserts that all the NYPD employees he lists—primarily members of the Community Affairs Bureau—pick up department cars near their homes and then use them while on the clock, after signing in. They avoid tolls, receive taxpayer‑funded fuel, parking perks, and the authorities to use police lights and sirens when passing traffic, an “outraged police source” said. “These are bosses and they’ve been getting away with murder for the longest time,” the source said.
The suit also names Captain Jackeline Bodden, the highest‑ranking officer in the case, who is said to have commuted 18 miles from Harlem to the NYPD Community Center in East New York while holding a lieutenant’s rank. Bodden was promoted to captain in August 2024, the complaint notes. Lt. Anthony Miolan, who works out of the 13th Precinct in Chelsea, allegedly used an NYPD car to travel about 30 miles each way to his home in Merrick, Long Island. Lt. Tanesha Facey, now with the Aviation Unit, and Lt. Duran Mclean, who drove five miles to a Brooklyn community center from Flatlands, are also listed. Additional officers named include Lts. Shane Sanders, Gesner Charles and Daniel Schmelter, Sgt. Sesame James, and Detectives Tanya Duhaney and Tanesha Facey.
“Taxpayers are paying for a scam,” said Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, a safe‑streets advocacy group. Karen Guevara, a Brooklyn resident, added that police should have to cover their own commutes, saying she paid up to $400 weekly for tolls, congestion pricing, gas, parking, and tickets when driving into Manhattan. “They are using police cars illegally,” she told reporters. “They always park illegally and use emergency lights to get through traffic. We’re paying for everything.”
Christal Hilton, a 38‑year‑old financial adviser from New Jersey, also expressed frustration, noting that while medical personnel and firefighters are supposed to be exempt from these fees, they still see police enjoy the same privilege. “They’re in the same position of serving the people,” Hilton said.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages for discrimination and names the city, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and IAB inspector Dawit Fikru as defendants.
A second police source said most officers normally commute with their own cars, but some evidently abuse the department vehicle system. “Certainly they should pay to drive to work,” said Carlton Cope, a 50‑year‑old hospital clerk. “They’re taxpayers, we’re taxpayers.” The NYPD has yet to issue a formal response to the complaint.
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