De Blasio's Security Detail Chief Pleads Guilty To Obstruction: DA

NEW YORK CITY — Bill de Blasio's security chief pleaded guilty to obstructing a probe into the former mayor's misuse of his NYPD detail.

Inspector Howard Redmond, 58, will be terminated from the NYPD as part of a plea deal he took in Manhattan court Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Redmond admitted that he deleted text messages requested by Department of Investigation officials during a high-profile probe that eventually found de Blasio misused his city-funded security detail for personal errands and his ill-fated presidential bid.

"Inspector Redmond engaged in a clear and brazen pattern of obstruction and tampering throughout the entirety of DOI’s investigation,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

The guilty plea adds to de Blasio's headaches over his security detail.

The former mayor must pay $475,000 for his improper use of NYPD security during his failed presidential bid, the city's Conflicts of Interest Board ordered in June.

De Blasio has vowed to fight back against the board's order and has denied any wrongdoing.

But official watchdogs have overwhelmingly looked askance at de Blasio's use of his security detail, with the head of the Department of Investigation saying he used it as a "concierge service."

The Department of Investigation's probe report released in 2021 not only dinged de Blasio for using NYPD security on his presidential campaign, but found he wrongfully tasked them with helping his daughter move and driving his son to and from Yale University.

The report also found Redmond deleted text messages from his phones, leading to his eventual plea deal with Manhattan prosecutors.

After Redmond entered his plea, he was sentenced to be discharged from the NYPD and required to fulfill 10 days of community service, prosecutors said.