DOI probes NYC Sheriff’s office; Miranda denies reports of raid at LIC headquarters

NYC Sheriff Anthony Miranda angrily denies his Long Island City offices were searched as part of a probe by the city’s Department of Investigations. Photo by Todd Maisel

Sept. 27, 2024 By Bill Parry

The city Department of Investigation is conducting a probe into the NYC Sheriff’s Office, but its head Anthony Miranda said Friday that published reports that claim his Long Island City headquarters was raided by investigators on Thursday are wrong.

“There was no search of my damn office,” NYC Sheriff Miranda told QNS on Friday afternoon. “There’s no search. Search is very particular. We reported something to them, and they came in because of our request. They released a statement out of City Hall.”

A City Hall spokesperson confirmed that Miranda initiated the investigation.

“Sheriff Miranda learned of seemingly unvouchered cash held in safe boxes and self-reported the incident to his supervisors,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “His supervisors then reported this to the Department of Investigation. We expect every city employee to follow proper procedures.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Investigations corroborated that investigators were at Miranda’s headquarters at 30-10 Starr Ave. on Thursday.

“DOI is investigating matters related to the Sheriff’s Office and was present at the Sheriff’s Long Island City location yesterday after receiving a report from the Department of Finance about unvouchered cash at that location,” the spokesperson said. “DOI will not be commenting further as this is an ongoing investigation.”

The investigation was launched after an oversight committee hearing at the City Council on Sept. 17, when Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan of Brooklyn asked Miranda about the amount of money his office is expected to generate from the ongoing raids of illegal marijuana shops around the five boroughs.

Miranda responded that his deputies had not seized cash during the recent Operation Padlock to Protect raids and that the cash vouchering came under the purview of the NYPD.

“We’re talking about cannabis enforcement since Padlock to Protect the vouchering process has been designated with the NYPD,” Miranda said. “They are the ones who voucher the property depending on the circumstances and location. They will either voucher it as safe keeping or they would vouch for it as investigatory.”

Mayor Eric Adams gave a vote of confidence to his Sheriff for shutting down more than 1,100 illegal marijuana shops across the city. Courtesy of NYC Sheriff’s Office

Before he was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday night, Mayor Eric Adams voiced support for his sheriff during his weekly briefing with City Hall reporters.

“What is this [about] not having confidence in Anthony Miranda?” Adams asked. “He’s doing the job that New York is asking him to do. This guy has closed down 1,100 smoke shops. Got $78 million of illegal cannabis off of our streets, not in the hands of our children and families. And so, why would I not have confidence?”