The former head of the NYPD school safety bureau was charged Thursday with taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from a self-described “sugar daddy” seeking a lucrative city contract for his school shooting response app.
Kevin Taylor, 52, ensured that Florida-based company Safewatch got a $19,830 contract — with no competing vendors — for a pilot program in September 2023, in exchange for the cash and perks from its CEO, Gino Roefaro, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.
Roefaro even allegedly paid for Taylor to take a trip to Las Vegas, where the head of the NYPD’s School Safety Division and a date enjoyed a helicopter tour and “medieval-themed dinner theater,” court papers state.
The allegedly corrupt ex-cop also urged the police department to award Safewatch an $11 million contract and touted the supposed merits of Roefaro’s app in testimony to the City Council, according to the indictment.
One week after the testimony, the 39-year-old Roefaro paid for Taylor to take another trip, this time to the Bahamas, where he covered airfare and dinner at a high-end steakhouse, the indictment alleges.
But Roefaro later grew frustrated with Taylor for apparently not delivering enough value in exchange for the alleged bribes, the court papers state.
“It’s been fun, but it’s not fun or funny anymore…. Our company (ME) needs to report something real and significant that is in place prior to end of year,” he allegedly texted Taylor in a bizarre rant on the encrypted app Signal.
“If not, I’m f–ked,” Roefaro wrote, according to the court documents. “And you don’t want me to be f–ked. I’m both your whore and your sugar daddy all in one.”
Taylor, who had been with the NYPD since 1996 was promoted to lead the School Safety bureau in June 2023 and resigned last year.
He is separately accused of trying to threaten to yank a contract from a company that outfitted his bureau with bulletproof vests unless he received $75,000 in cash, according to the indictment.
Taylor was arrested Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty at his first appearance in Manhattan court that afternoon. He was released on a $600,000 bond secured by his home in Yonkers.
Roefaro was arrested in Florida and made his first court appearance there Thursday afternoon.
Attorneys for both men could not immediately be reached. Each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The case is the latest in a series of corruption allegations to spring up during Mayor Eric Adams’ one-term administration.
An NYPD spokesperson said in a statement that “the NYPD holds our officers to the highest standards, and it is unacceptable when those standards are violated by any member of this department.”
“There is zero tolerance for misconduct, and that’s why we played a significant role in this investigation. We thank the US Attorney’s Office for their partnership on this case.”
— Additional reporting by Joe Marino
