Latest news with #Rupple
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-NYPD commander pleads guilty to off-duty drunk driving crash coverup
A former NYPD commander pleaded guilty Wednesday to covering up an off-duty drunk driving crash with a cabbie on a Midtown Manhattan street in 2022, officials said. Former NYPD deputy inspector Paul Zangrilli, 44, had already been terminated from his high-ranking post — 18 days before he could retire with a full pension. A Manhattan judge sentenced him to a 90-day license suspension and a three-year conditional discharge that prevents him from seeking future employment with the NYPD. Prosecutors said Zangrilli betrayed his badge when he tried to cover up an Aug. 16, 2022 crash with a city cabbie following a night of binge drinking with girlfriend Nikole Rupple, 35, at a Midtown bar. 'Members of law enforcement, particularly those in leadership positions, must obey the laws they are entrusted to enforce,' Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement. 'Former Deputy Inspector Zangrilli misused his authority to cover up a dangerous drunk driving incident. Public servants who abuse their positions of power and violate the trust of the people they serve will face consequences.' Prosecutors said the couple spent about three hours at the American Whiskey bar before getting into the inspector's NYPD-issued vehicle and heading home. At the bar, Zangrilli, a 19-year veteran, downed around 10 shots of alcohol, according to court documents. He did not get behind the wheel. Instead he let Rupple drive the city vehicle, even though she had seven shots of alcohol and three beers, the court records said. She didn't get far. Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Rupple crashed into a yellow cab at W. 30th St. and 10th Ave. — just a few blocks from the bar — and sped away without stopping. Rupple parked the car a few blocks away on 10th Ave., and the two switched places, officials cabbie caught up with the couple at a red light on W. 34th St. and flagged down a uniformed officer, who pulled over the NYPD vehicle, according to prosecutors. The cab driver suffered minor back and neck injuries in the crash and claimed Zangrilli was drunk but the responding officer sent the inspector on his way, telling the cabbie to file an accident report at an NYPD precinct. Zangrilli instructed the uniform officer to leave the area without instructing her to complete a police accident report, officials said. Zangrilli then called a duty captain and informed them his vehicle was involved in a collision. He instucted Rupple to take off, and told the responding duty captain that he was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash, officials said. Zangrilli offered the cab driver $500 and then $1,000 to avoid an insurance exchange, according to prosecutors. Zangrilli then personally called the owner of the bar and asked him to delete the security video of him and Rupple drinking. The footage was erased but during an investigation the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was able to recover it. He was arrested on June 12, 2024, and was fired from the NYPD in December following a department trial. Zangrilli pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence, falsifying business records, obstructing governmental administration, official misconduct and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol. Rupple also pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting; she was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge Zangrilli joined the NYPD in January 2005. He was the commanding officer of the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown when the crash occurred.
New York Post
07-05-2025
- New York Post
Disgraced NYPD cop who took mistress on drunken joyride in cruiser dodges jail
A disgraced former NYPD Deputy Inspector has avoided jail after admitting to taking his mistress on a drunken joyride before crashing into a taxi cab. Paul Zangrilli pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drunk driving as well as covering up the incident and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge, a $750 fine and a 90-day suspended license. Zangrilli smiled at his former lover, Nikole Rupple, as the pair sat next to each other at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse and heard their punishments for their 2022 drunken rampage. The pair had sunk 10 beers and 12 shots between them in the space of three hours at the American Whiskey bar near Penn Station before Zangrilli let Rupple get behind the wheel of his NYPD-issued cruiser at around 5:40 p.m. on August 15, 2022, an indictment from last year stated. 5 Disgraced former NYPD officer Paul Zangrilli. Steven Hirsch Zangrilli was allowed to take an unmarked vehicle — a white Chevy Equinox — for use on official business on the day, ADA Samantha Dworkin told the court. After Rupple crashed into a cab, damaging both vehicles, the pair fled the scene without exchanging information, the court heard. They then stopped and Zangrilli got into the driver's seat and drove off, before the cabbie caught up with their vehicle and flagged down a marked police car, who forced the pair to pull over, the court heard. 5 Zangrilli and his then-mistress, Nikole Rupple (R), went on a drunken joyride in a police cruiser after sinking 22 drinks between them in 3 hours. Steven Hirsch Zangrilli, who was seeing Rupple while still married to his then-wife, tried to conceal evidence of the crash by attempting to bribe the driver of the cab he hit and calling the owner of the bar the pair had been at and asking him to delete their surveillance footage, court papers earlier revealed. 'They nearly got away with it,' Dworkin said. Rupple was never identified as the driver and taxpayers were forced to foot the bill when the livery cab driver sued the city for $75,000, Dworkin said. Fearing 'professional retribution,' lower-ranked officers didn't come forward to testify against Zangrilli, she told the court. 5 Zangrilli avoided jail but was banned from serving in the force and lost his NYPD pension. Steven Hirsch 'That is a reminder of what this case is about,' she added. Rupple, who is reportedly no longer with Zangrilli, shook in court as she was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to install and maintain an ignition interlock device in any vehicle she uses during that time. 5 Rupple's lawyer said she wanted to 'get on with her life.' Steven Hirsch She was also ordered to complete the Impaired Driver Program and her license will be suspended for six months. Zangrilli, who led Manhattan's 5th Precinct, had previously been terminated from the NYPD and lost his pension after nearly 20 years on the force, the plea agreement noted. 'I think that the punishment is overkill. It's unfortunate,' Zangrilli's lawyer, Eric Franz, told The Post. 'The man gave so much to so many in this community and the 5th precinct, to the department. He went to the FBI Academy, studied at John Jay. He made a mistake. He didn't want to reveal that his marriage was falling apart and he had a relationship with someone else – that's a purely human thing that happened [that] we should recognize.' Zangrilli had 'lost everything,' Franz added. Rupple, wearing all black, said she wanted to 'get on with her life,' she told The Post via her lawyer, Scott Leemon. 5 Zangrilli was leader of Manhattan's 5th Precinct before the drunken rampage. 'It's been one tiresome ordeal and she's finally glad to put this behind her and get on with her life,' he said. Zangrilli, dressed in a light blue suit and brown shoes, apologized to New Yorkers when asked if he had anything to say by Judge Cori Weston. 'I just want to say I'm sorry to a lot of people, the court, and mostly to the people of New York who rely on me for a long time. Being a member of the NYPD was 100% part of my life,' he said, speaking softly. 'This loss of that career is probably the toughest.' The Manhattan D.A.'s office has spoken following the verdict. 'Members of law enforcement, particularly those in leadership positions, must obey the laws they are entrusted to enforce,' D.A. Alvin Bragg said. 'Former Deputy Inspector Zangrilli misused his authority to cover up a dangerous drunk driving incident. Public servants who abuse their positions of power and violate the trust of the people they serve will face consequences.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD commander fired for for trying to cover up off-duty Manhattan DWI crash
An NYPD commanding officer facing criminal charges for trying to cover up an off-duty drunk-driving crash involving a cabbie has been fired from the force, the Daily News has learned. NYPD officials confirm Deputy Inspector Paul Zangrilli was fired in late December following a departmental trial. Police sources say he was pushed out 18 days before he could retire with a full pension. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch signed off on Zangrilli's termination, department officials said. Zangrilli, 44, is still facing criminal charges for allegedly trying to cover up an Aug. 16, 2022, crash with a city cabbie following a night of binge drinking with his girlfriend Nikole Rupple, 35, in Manhattan, officials said. The couple spent about three hours at the Midtown bar American Whiskey before getting into the inspector's NYPD-issued vehicle and heading home, prosecutors said. At the bar Zangrilli downed five shots. Rupple had seven shots and three beers but the 19-year NYPD veteran allowed his girlfriend to drive the city vehicle, Manhattan prosecutors said. As the couple drove past the corner of W. 30th St. and 10th Ave. — just a few blocks from the bar — Rupple crashed into a yellow cab and fled the scene. The couple switched seats a few minutes after the crash and Zangrilli kept driving north on 10th Ave., authorities say. The cabbie caught up with the couple at a red light on W. 33rd St. and flagged down a uniformed officer, who pulled over the NYPD vehicle, according to prosecutors. The cab driver suffered minor back and neck injuries in the crash and claimed Zangrilli was drunk but the responding officer sent the inspector on his way, telling the cabbie to file an accident report at an NYPD precinct. Zangrilli allegedly offered the cab driver $500 and then $1,000 to avoid an insurance exchange, both in front of the responding officer and after she left, prosecutors said. He then personally called the owner of the bar and asked him to delete the security video of him and Rupple drinking. The footage was erased but during an investigation the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was able to recover it. Zangrilli was arrested on June 12 and charged with tampering with physical evidence, falsifying business records, offering a false instrument for filing, obstructing governmental administration, official misconduct and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Rupple faces charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. The deputy inspector was released without bail after his arrest. He's expected to return to court on the criminal charges on March 19. Zangrilli joined the NYPD in January 2005. He was the commanding officer of the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown when the crash occurred. He was suspended a few days after the crash. When his suspension ended, he was reassigned to the Queens Court Section, NYPD personnel records show. Calls to Zangrilli and his attorney, Eric Franz, were not immediately returned Tuesday.
