This is one way to evade congestion pricing.
An NYPD supervisor allegedly put taxpayers on the hook for $20,000 in tolls by ditching his new Mercedes Benz at a department outpost on Staten Island and using a city-owned car to get to work, The Post has learned.
Lt. Joseph Abdelmessih, operations coordinator with the department’s Community Outreach Division, has been dodging tolls on the Verrazano Bridge and Hugh Carey Tunnel since August 2022, and more recently, congestion pricing, according to a complaint filed with the city Department of Investigation.
Abdelmessih, 43, drove his luxe ride to an agency office on Staten Island about six miles from his home each day he worked, the complaint alleges.
He then signed in at the Youth Strategies Division at 1 Teleport Drive as if he was working, before hopping behind the wheel of a department-owned black Ford Taurus for the ride into his real office at 90 Church St. in downtown Manhattan, according to the Jan. 23 complaint.
Doing so allowed Abdelmessih to avoid about $20,000 in tolls and left taxpayers on the hook, according to the complaint filed with DOI.
He also commuted while being on the clock, another no-no, it said.
“The lieutenant was able to successfully defraud the city from thousands of dollars in a scheme to avoid the lawful payment of tolls, congestion pricing, gas, mileage and his paid work time,” a police source said.
“His corrupt actions are alarming and merit a department-wide internal audit as to how many other members are engaging in similar conduct.”
Abdelmessih’s boss, Deputy Chief Victoria Perry, had “knowledge” of the alleged misconduct but “failed to supervise, intervene and discipline” the lieutenant, the complaint alleged.
When Perry became aware of the officer’s conduct, she distributed a memo to all supervisors banning the practice of signing into work at other locations, according to the complaint.
Abdelmessih’s union said he had permission to take the car from Staten Island because he was doing two jobs, one there and one in lower Manhattan.
“This was all authorized by his boss,” Lieutenant Benevolent Association President Lou Turco said. “The department knew about it.” Abdelmessih was told to stop using the car only three weeks ago, and did, Turco said.
But the NYPD said the lieutenant’s actions are under investigation. “We are aware and it is under internal review,” an NYPD spokesperson said. The DOI refused to comment on the complaint.
