Police Commissioner Edward Caban’s twin brother was ferried around the five boroughs in an NYPD vehicle after a threat to the top cop’s life — and now the feds have seized a phone from the detective who drove him around as part of a wide-ranging federal corruption probe, The Post has learned.
The detective-cum-transporter was assigned to chauffeur Caban’s twin, James Caban, because police thought a would-be attacker could easily mistake one brother for the other, sources said Wednesday.
It’s not clear when the arrangement — which only provided for a driver when James was in the Big Apple — began or ended, if it has.
But sources say the plan was approved by the NYPD’s legal bureau, and likely began sometime after Edward became commissioner in July 2023.
The feds have since seized the phone belonging to the cop who drove James around as part of an inquiry that’s ensnared several of Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides, lieutenants and political allies.
Sources have said that investigators from the Southern District of New York are looking into corruption and influence peddling — and they launched a stunning series of raids last week in their search for evidence of crimes.
Among those targeted was James Caban, a 56-year-old ex-cop with a checkered past who sources say worked as a “fixer” for troubled nightclubs that had problems with the police.
The feds raided his house — along with his police commissioner brother, who lives across the street — but neither he nor anyone else has been charged with a crime.
And neither Edward nor James Caban have responded to several requests for comment since word of the raids broke.
But James’ lawyer, Sean Hecker, said his client has denied any wrongdoing and separately defended the rides he received from the NYPD detective.
“The NYPD protection provided to Mr. Caban was solely for his safety given his close relationship with his identical twin brother, Commissioner Caban, who faces numerous threats to his security given his position,” said Hecker.
James — who owns a million-dollar house in Rockland County’s New City — started with the NYPD in 1989, but was hit with a slew of complaints and allegations that led to an early exit in January 2001.
Among those complaints were substantiated charges that he used excessive force and abused his authority two different times in 1996.
The department canned him five years later after he wrongfully detained and threatened a cabbie who he thought was sneaking money from his wife’s purse, according to City & State New York.
Later, he bought a Bronx apartment building — but was such an awful landlord that a judge threw him jail for 30 days as punishment for ignoring hundreds of necessary repairs at the 12-unit building on Commonwealth Avenue desperately needed.
Eventually, he began doing “consulting work” — which sources say is shorthand for getting paid to smooth things over between businesses and the cops who gave them trouble.
“It wasn’t old-school Mafia, ‘If you don’t pay, we break your windows,’” one source said. “But [it was], ‘My brother is a big shot, and he can make your fines and underage drinking go away.’”
Caban was allegedly called when cops hit the hotspots with a noise citation or an underage drinking complaint, and he would then go to the local precinct heads — many of whom are also under investigation by the feds, according to the sources.
Bars and restaurants facing repeated violations could be hit with hefty fines or be stripped of their liquor license.
It wasn’t clear whether James Caban did his alleged work under a company’s umbrella, or all on his own. It’s also not clear when he started, and how the businesses found out about him.
Hecker, James’ lawyer, said the top cop’s brother did everything by the book.
“His work – as a consultant and acting as a liaison between the Department and a private company – is perfectly legal, especially given his previous career as a NYPD officer,” said Hecker.
“Our client has fully cooperated with law enforcement and, once their investigation is complete, it will be clear that these claims are unfounded and lack merit,” the lawyer said.
