The appointment of retired FBI official Tom Donlon as interim NYPD commissioner Thursday is a move meant to help rebuild the department’s image amid a federal investigation ensnaring several police officials, insiders say.
Mayor Eric Adams’ pick of an outsider to the NYPD was specifically intended to regain the public’s trust in the police department’s leadership after scandal-scarred Commissioner Edward Caban, whose phone was seized by the feds last week, submitted his resignation, sources said.
“No one is going to make a fool out of this guy,” one source said of Donlon, a veteran federal lawman with an impressive resume and track record.
The stopgap top cop is expected to be very active during his tenure, though it is unclear how long he’ll steer the nation’s largest police force before Adams names a permanent commish, sources said.
Donlon, a Bronx native described as a “serious player,” boasts a long resume in law-enforcement at the local, state, federal and international levels.
He served as New York’s director of the Office of Homeland Security, ran the FBI’s National Threat Assessment Center and the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Retired NYPD sources who worked with Donlon with the joint task force were surprised by the pick, but said he’s a good choice.
“Tom is a good administrator, very smart, professional, and a hands-on boss,” one retired detective told The Post.
“This is a smart move the mayor it’s fighting for his life both professionally and being investigated,” said another retired detective.
“Tom is squeaky clean, this will help his image,” the source added, referring to Adams.
“He will not got home until the work is done. He also won’t take any nonsense from the current police brass.”
Former Gov. David Paterson, who hired Donlon as homeland security director, heaped praise on the incoming interim commish.
“New York City can rest easy if Tom Donlon devotes his attention to the job of police commissioner as he did as homeland security director,” Paterson said. “You’re in good hands.
“Tom is a serious player. He dots all the I’s and T’s. Anything he sees that doesn’t look right is going to get addressed.”
Donlon also worked as the cold-case agent investigating the 1993 Twin Towers bombing, as well as the attacks on US embassies in Africa and the USS Cole in Yemen by al Qaeda.
After stints at Credit Suisse and Blackrock, Donlon founded Global Security Resolutions, a New York City-based company that provides security, protection and investigative work.
Donlon’s time with New York’s Office of Homeland Security between 2009 and 2011 brought him into contact with Adams, who then served on the state Senate’s homeland security committee.
“I am honored and humbled to be named interim-Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, the greatest law enforcement agency in the world,” Donlon said in a statement.
“My goals are clear: continue the historic progress decreasing crime and removing illegal guns from our communities, uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency, and support our dedicated officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.”
But not all insiders were impressed by Donlon.
One source scoffed at Donlon as an “empty suit.”
A representative for Yusef Salaam, the City Council’s public safety committee chair, said it was too early to form an opinion on Donlon.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams likewise withheld judgment.
“I’m not quite sure even the rank-and-file understand or know him, much less myself and my colleagues,” she said.
— Additional reporting by Matt Troutman
