An NYPD lieutenant was arrested and indicted Wednesday for allegedly billing $64,000 in overtime for his commute to work, time at home and hours moonlighting in private security.
At a brief appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court — where he’s been on desk duty since March 2024, when allegations of his overtime fraud first came to light — Lt. Thomas Fabrizi, 42, pleaded not guilty to second-degree grand larceny, defrauding the government, and eight counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
Following the hearing, an NYPD spokesperson told the Daily News that Fabrizi had been suspended without pay.
The 19-year NYPD vet, who was lieutenant detective commander of the NYPD’s major cases squad, is accused of fraudulently filing for overtime pay from July 2023 through February 2024, sometimes amounting to $10,000 a month in falsely claimed wages.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office alleges that the longtime lieutenant sometimes billed the police department for his commute from the 17th precinct in Midtown to his home in Rockland County in an unmarked SUV assigned to the major case squad that was only supposed to be used for work matters. Other times, court papers allege that he billed for his time at home.
Fabrizi also filed overtime slips for work at McCann Protective Services doing corporate security, VIP escorts, and security for upscale events, a side gig that court papers allege the police department never permitted him to do.
According to prosecutors, the overtime lies continued until an internal investigation was launched in March 2024, when he was stripped of his gun and shield and reassigned from the major case squad, as The News first reported.
According to public records, Fabrizi made $310,000 last year, around $60,000 more than NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s current salary.
His lawyer, Hugo Gabriel Ortega, did not respond to inquiries from The News
A series of scandals at the NYPD stemming from excessive overtime spending has caught the attention of state and federal investigators in New York, with the department logging an astonishing $1.1 billion in overtime in fiscal year 2024 — up by $141 million from the previous year.
Last month, ex-Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey abruptly resigned following allegations he pressured former Lt. Quathisha Epps for sex in exchange for overtime pay in a matter being investigated by the feds in Manhattan, leading to a major staffing shakeup in the NYPD’s upper ranks. Maddrey denies the allegations.
Epps was the highest-paid member of the NYPD with a salary of $406,515, The News previously reported, equaling $118,203 more than that made by former Commissioner Edward Caban in fiscal year 2024.
On Sunday, The News reported Epps would retire without facing departmental charges but under suspension without pay, which means she will not receive benefits typically granted to retiring officers, such as ID granting access to government buildings.
