NYPD bosses got federal $$ for helicopter training they didn't need
Lt. Lakeisha Smith, Lt. Winston Wright and Detective Tanesha Facey, Faison's driver, made up to 20 overtime hours per month — funded by a federal maritime safety training grant administered by FEMA, police sources said.
'They're literally doing nothing for the training whatsoever except putting in overtime slips,' one source said.
6 Former NYPD Aviation Commander Winston Faison's unit is being eyed for misuse of federal overtime dollars, police sources said.
Winston Faison/ Facebook
Smith's total pay for 2024 rose to $185,405 from $122,892 the prior year — or more than $60,000 thanks to overtime and other extras, like differentials for working later shifts or holidays. Facey's pay went from $115,923 to $159,249.
Lt. Winston Wright's haul increased to $177,654 in 2024 compared to $135,595 the year before, according to state payroll data.
None of the three are licensed pilots or mechanics or have anything to do with the training maneuvers, three sources said. The three officers didn't return messages.
6 Lt. Winston Wright's federal overtime pay is being eyed by investigators, sources and officials said.
50-a.org
Faison was transferred by the NYPD last week as the Federal Aviation Administration investigated safety issues at the unit, reported exclusively by The Post. He has since retired, NYPD documents show. Smith filed her retirement papers Wednesday, sources said.
The FAA went to the unit's headquarters earlier this month and demanded to see records about safety issues, including a hard landing and tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to an aircraft during a hovering exercise, The Post revealed last week.
'This matter is under investigation,' an NYPD spokesman said in response to an email asking about the safety and overtime issues.
6 Det. Tanesha Facey also got the federal overtime hours for air sea rescue training, police sources said.
50-a.org
6 Lt. Lakeisha Smith was one of the Aviation members who got federal overtime money meant for air sea rescue training, according to police sources.
Obtained by the New York Post
Faison, has only a few hundred hours of flying time under his belt in comparison to other unit pilots with thousands of hours, also took at least one off-the-books trip with the unit's Bell 429 helicopter that was not properly recorded in the aircraft's log book, the sources said.
Faison took the pricey helicopter to Farmingdale Airport in Long Island on June 27 — where he keeps his personal plane and runs a non-profit called Aviate4Us to encourage inner city youth to become pilots, records show. The group has had about $20,000 in contracts with the city Department of Youth and Community Development, city records show.
Facey was with Faison on the trip but he failed to include her when he filled out the helicopter's log book, which is supposed to show who was on the flight and where it went, records obtained by The Post show.
6 The FAA is also looking at safety issues at the unit, including damage done to a helicopter during a hovering training exercise with Faison as pilot, police sources said.
Obtained by the New York Post
'When Faison put it over on the radio, he said 'Faison airborne,'' a law enforcement source said.
But the supervisor on duty knew he wasn't alone and incuded Facey in the master log book entry he made, according to records.
Faison also didn't get permission from headquarters at One Police Plaza to leave the city and fly to the airport, which is required, the sources said. He also didn't record that he landed in Farmingdale and instead noted only a stop in Islip where the NYPD's keeps its spy plane.
6 Chief Winston Faison approved the federal overtime payments to his cronies, police sources said.
Winston Faison/ Facebook
The FBI is looking at the misuse of the overtime grant money as part of a larger investigation that began after The Post exclusively reported bombshell allegations that disgraced NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey paid Lt. Quathisha Epps overtime for sexual favors, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said.
'It's a massive investigation,' a second law enforcement source said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
One Ukranian soldier's daring escape on e-bike delivered by drone
World He was stuck behind enemy lines. An e-bike saved him. August 3, 2025 | 5:52 PM GMT An injured Ukranian soldier managed to escape after the Ukranian National Guard delivered an e-bike by drone. This video is authenticated by Storyful from footage provided by the Ukrainian National Guard. The Post has not independently verified it.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Legendary Long Island law firm Sullivan-Papain turns 100
They've pleased the court. A Long Island law firm that changed the world using out-of-the-box thinking on everything from smoking to cars to beer at baseball games is celebrating centenarian status this year. 'Everything that you have grown up with and have taken for granted is because of what's happened in this firm over the last 100 years,' New York State Supreme Court Justice Christopher McGrath told The Post of firm Sullivan-Papain, which has recovered north of $2 billion in settlements in the past decade alone. 4 Sullivan-Papain partners Thomas McManus, Eleni Coffinas, John Nash, Nick Papain (back row left to right) and Bob Sullivan (seated) at the law firm's office in Garden City. Dennis A. Clark The judge cut his teeth with the Garden City-based practice as a 23-year-old under the tutelage of its late 5'2″ skinny founder, Harry Lipsig, who was a giant in the legal world 50-something years ago. 'He was just different. He's a genius — and yet, we'll call him a little quirky at the same time,' McGrath said. 'One time, my job was to meet him at his apartment at seven in the morning. The train got me in late at 7:05, and he said, 'Good afternoon.' ' Lipsig's high standards weren't without reason. He used a mix of sheer brilliance and common sense to change how the world operated; perhaps most notably, starting with how stadiums sold beer 80 years ago, after a man at a New York Giants baseball game got belted in the head with a glass bottle at the old Polo Grounds. 4 Harry Lipsig was a founding partner of the 100-year-old firm. Dennis A. Clark 'The Polo Grounds was saying it wasn't their fault. … 'We can't put a police officer in every other seat. We can't have everybody stop anybody from throwing something down,' ' recalled senior partner Bob Sullivan. During the three-day trial, Lipsig, who passed away in 1989 at age 89, brought a mysterious handheld paper bag into court with him each day and left it sealed on the table. 'When he got to summation, he pulled out a paper cup and he said, 'This is how you stop it.' … That's how that came to be in stadiums all across the country,' Sullivan said. 4 Senior partner Bob Sullivan recalls the creative way Lipsig was able to win a case against the old Polo Grounds stadium. Dennis A. Clark On a case-by-case basis The novel way of thinking that Lipsig was known for — he once won a shark-bite case by proving the victim's hotel wasn't dumping its garbage far enough at sea and drew in the predators — has been passed down generation to generation. New York state recruited Sullivan-Papain in its lawsuit against smoking companies in the late 1990s, which yielded an end to cigarette ads and $25 billion in recovery locally. 'The genius was that we didn't represent the smokers, we represented the nonsmokers,' Sullivan said. 'Your taxes, what you pay for Medicare, Medicaid, for all these people who got sick and were dying of cancer, went through the roof. That was the key point.' 4 Partner Nick Papain was involved in a case that helped make cars safer. Dennis A. Clark Ironically, most of the firm's team on the case was hooked on nicotine. 'Every hour, we would take a 10-minute break so the lawyers could go out and smoke,' said partner Nicholas Papain, a lawyer who led to changes in how cars are built. He was involved in several cases of people who got into accidents by unintentionally hitting the gas rather than the brake when first getting into their cars. Ultimately, the high-volume litigation led to automakers keeping gearshifts locked unless a driver's foot was on the brake. The firm has also branched out into medical malpractice and represented the FDNY for four decades, with partner Eleni Coffinas saying cancer patients often find emotional strength in court victories. Sullivan-Papain has done an estimated $40 million in pro bono work for the families of first responders on 9/11, too. 'I think it speaks to that firm culture, philosophy, that is a big reason why it has been around for 100 years,' said managing partner TJ McManus, who added that it is common for new workers to hear of Lipsig's legend during their first week on the job. 'I think he set certain parameters and a legacy that is followed all the way through to today.'
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Fundraiser to fulfill tragic security guard's ‘wish' for his kids after he's killed in NYC mass shooting
A fundraiser for the children of security guard gunned down in last week's mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan has topped $60,000 — as kin hailed him as 'a pillar of strength' for his family. Aland Etienne, 46, was among four people killed by gun-toting maniac Shane Tamura at 345 Park Ave. on July 28, leaving his family and school-aged kids without a provider, the gofundme site said. 'Aland was more than just a colleague or friend — he was light in every room, a pillar of strength for his family, and the kind of father every child dreams of,' the site said. 'He leaves behind two beautiful children who were his entire world. Advertisement 3 Aland Etienne, 46, was a doting dad and a beloved fixture at 345 Park Ave. before tragedy struck. Obtained by the NY Post 'His deepest wish was to give them the future they deserve.' Etienne was on duty when Tamura stormed in, killing him, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and NYPD Police Officer Didarul Islam, before taking the elevator to the 33rd floor. Advertisement There, he opened fire on cleaning woman Sebije Nelovic, who managed to duck into a closet, before he shot and killed 27-year-old Rudin Management associate Julia Hyman — then killed himself. 3 Tragic victims, clockwise from top left — Wesley LePatner, Aland Etienne, NYPD officer Didarul Islam, Julia Hyman. Blackstone; Facebook; Obtained; Linkedin 3 Shane Tamura, a deranged Las Vegas security guard, stormed into 345 Park Ave. with an AR-15 assault rifle July 28. Obtained by the NY Post Advertisement Etienne has a son who celebrated his 7th birthday just days after the tragedy, and an older daughter, According to sources. He was a beloved fixture at the Midtown skyscraper, the sources said. Shamura, a disgruntled Las Vegas security guard, was targeting NFL offices in the building over perceived CTE injuries from playing high school football — but went to the wrong floor. Funerals for the slain hero cop, a married 36-year-old father of two who had been on the force for four years; LePatner, the married mom of two; and Hyman, a Cornell graduate, were held last week.
