From Queens Beat to Internal Affairs Chief: Miguel Iglesias on Power, Accountability & Leadership

On this episode of Corey’s Corner, retired NYPD executive Corey Pegues sits down with Miguel Iglesias, a former Chief of Internal Affairs with over 30 years of service in the New York City Police Department. From his early days patrolling Queens 114 Precinct to leading one of the most powerful and scrutinized divisions in policing, Iglesias shares an unfiltered look at leadership, integrity, and the realities behind the badge.

We dive into his journey from Panama to New York, his experience in narcotics and intelligence, and the challenges of holding officers accountable from within. He also addresses the pressures of leadership at the highest levels, public trust in policing, and what legacy truly means after decades of service.

This is a conversation about power, responsibility, and the human side of policing you won’t want to miss.

🎧 Tune in, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Once again, let it die. Yeah. I forgot that we're celebrating it.

SPEAKER_05 0:10

Once again. Pull up a seat. You're now in Corey's corner, where right conversations matter. I'm your host, Corey Pegiz, and I always keep it right, not real. Today's guest is a man whose career spans over three decades of service, discipline, and command at the highest levels of law enforcement. From patrolling the streets of Queens, New York in the 114 precinct to rising through every single rank of the New York City Police Department, he ultimately serves as Chief of Internal Affairs, one of the most powerful and scrutinized positions in policing. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, Miguel Eglacies built a career defined by integrity, accountability, and operational excellence. With leadership roles across narcotics, intelligence, and internal affairs, and executive trainer from top institutions around the country. His journey offers a rare, behind the scenes look at what it looks like to lead, to enforce, to uphold the standards inside one of the largest police departments in the world. Let's get into it. Chief Miguel Glaces, my brother, welcome to Corey's Corner. How are you, sir? Oh man. Been dying to get you here.

SPEAKER_06 1:28

Yeah, yeah, you know. But life is busy. Life keeps you busy. Life is life, man. Did you know I told you I was going to get here and I'm here. You made it.

SPEAKER_05 1:35

You made it. You made it. Before we start, let me just shout out my sponsors. This episode of Corey's Corner is brought to you by Vaquila, one of the world's first premium blends of vodka and tequila. Infused into one smooth, unforgettable spirit. Whether you're celebrating success or unwinding after a long week, choose the spirit that's redefining the game. Visit Vaquila.net for more information. Shout out to Corrupt Mob MC, a brotherhood built on loyalty, respect, and community. More than just the motorcycle club. Respect the mob. Let's get into it, brother.

SPEAKER_06 2:13

Let's go.

SPEAKER_05 2:13

Growing up in Panama, which I first I've known you since 1992. Just found out, but I saw you speaking Spanish since we were young. I was like, fuck Miguel, don't speak Spanish. Wasn't even putting one and one together. Panama now. Duh. Growing up between Panama and Brooklyn, what were some of your defining moments or influences in your early life that shaped your values and sense of purpose?

SPEAKER_06 2:37

Well, influences was definitely my parents. You know, uh, mom and dad are very hard-working folks. We didn't have a lot, but we had enough. You know, my dad was a military guy. He went to the it was actually a Vietnam Marines bomb. She uh started out working as a uh secretary uh in a hotel and went to school as an adult to become a nurse. You remember we used to visit her at the Cola Hospital at the time. Uh-huh. You know, so uh they talk about instilling value. And listen, we talk about a village. I had a village, uh 1685 President Street. Um, we had uh I think it was 13 apartments in there. My family had eight. Wow. So yeah, we were all up in there, man. And then you know, after that, everybody just you know scattered or whatever it may be. But you know, that's where it came from. Yeah, you know, uh that's a very, very, uh, very cohesive family.

SPEAKER_05 3:30

So, what's life been like since you stepped away from NYPD? How many years did you do? 34 years. You did 34 years and you recently left within the last year, right? Yeah, yeah. So, what you've been doing besides playing golf.

SPEAKER_06 3:44

Well, listen, a lot of catching up with the family. Uh, I have a granddaughter, four years old. You know, I was very happy to be able to uh hang out with her. At first it was like, what am I gonna do? You know, looking around the house, just doing stuff around the house. But you you get done with that after a while. Stuff that you were thinking about years ago. Went down to Florida, started going down there, you know, pretty often. And just being there for the family. Just love it. Being there for the family. Absolutely. Welcome to every day Saturday. That's the motto.

SPEAKER_05 4:15

Everyday Saturday. I love it. When people hear your name today, what do you want them to immediately think of?

SPEAKER_06 4:23

Someone that, and listen, my my thoughts always throughout this job was listen, put your head, and I tell my sons, you know, you know I got two sons on a job. Put your head down and work. You know, it'll work out. You know, and that's how I want to be known. Somebody that basically I I never asked for promotion. You know, listen, I was very fortunate, you know, to be able to get to attain what I did on this job. And with my family. Uh, I love my family. I love being around my family, man. Um, you know, three boys, they all play sports, you know that. You know, uh, you know, going to the games, I miss it like hell. But uh, listen, my granddaughter, you know, I feel bad for her, but you know, she's gonna carry the torch. Yeah, you're gonna be another Rodney. Another Rodney Harris, right? That's your thing. Making all the girls play sports. She is such a dynamo, man. I love it. You know, she's a little bit.

SPEAKER_05 5:14

Well, you just mentioned something, so let's just give you your flowers right now in the beginning of the show. You was like, you got um, you was blessed. You was like, you wasn't just blessed. Less than 1% of police officers in the history of the NYPD attained the rank that you did. High level, three-star chief. That's from for the people that don't understand what the levels are. You got cop, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, deputy inspector, inspector, chief one, two, three. It's only one more spot, it's four, chief of department. So let's be clear. I need the audience to understand and know what you attained. And it's not by happenstance. It is what it is. We know what the game is. Some people get them, some, but you deserved it. Now, also, what people don't know is me and you were cops together in the early 90s in the 114 precinct.

SPEAKER_06 6:09

It was a big group of us. It's amazing. When you start looking at the landscape throughout the job, and you see uh, you know, that group that came in uh 91 or 93, even 90, right? Dwayne was there, where that group came in and attained major status in this job.

SPEAKER_05 6:26

Yeah, we didn't do too bad. Emlin was operations guy, he was our CEO at the time. Rodney, four-star chief, you three-star chief. I was a deputy inspector. We didn't do too bad. I can't remember all the names, but it was a lot. No, it was good. We did good, man. I'm proud of you. Thank you. What does a typical day look like for you? Right now, you up nine o'clock in the morning. What's going on?

SPEAKER_06 6:48

No, I get up a little earlier than that, though. Early? Yeah, you can't do it. No, I still get up early, man. That ain't gonna last long. The thing is, I try to get to the gym, right? You get to the gym. I want to start the day that way. Then uh certain days the granddaughter comes over. So it's like it's her world after that. If she's not there, you try to grab the wife, we go and try to keep busy, right? During the summer, I was trying to get her to play golf. Still, like I said, I'm still trying. When it got a bike, ride or whatever it may be, but just try to stay busy. You know, try to stay busy at nighttime, bowling, and try to do stuff. Uh, we're not going out to dinner every night because you can eat dinner at home. Just try to stay busy and and hook back up with friends. A lot of friends uh we travel. Right. So um actually the best thing that I did was uh my father passed away last year. Earlier, earlier yeah, last year now.

SPEAKER_04 7:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:41

So I was able to take them on a trip um on a cruise, right? I it was the best idea ever because it was like myself, siblings, and their kids. Right. Oh man, we had a great time.

SPEAKER_05 7:54

I remember you told me that. Y'all went for like 10 days, right?

SPEAKER_06 7:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I was so happy that we were able to do it because we ended up passing away and it was like, damn, we we got that time together. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 8:07

Yeah. Before you ever put on the uniform, who or what inspired your commitment to protecting vulnerable communities and pursuing a career in law enforcement?

SPEAKER_06 8:16

Marine, man. Yeah, my dad's whole thing was listen, he wanted to be a he listen, he he lived very virtually through myself. Right? He was a Marine, he came home, uh, he tried to become a cop. He ended up um working for the post office for about a hundred years. You know, but and and think about it, he worked midnights all that time so I could play my sports, man. Right. You know what I mean? So he can be there with with you know whatever sports I wanted to do.

SPEAKER_05 8:42

So that's why you worked midnights in the 114?

SPEAKER_06 8:45

Nah, I just did that for a little while because my son's yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You know, but um as far as you know, he was the inspiration, man. Like I said, he wanted to be a cop. I think it was something with vision, no, his back. Back was, you know, right. He had back problems, so he couldn't come on. Because you know, at that time all the Vietnam veterans were coming home and jumping right into it.

SPEAKER_05 9:09

You know, so do you remember the exact time when you was like, you know, I'm gonna be a cop?

SPEAKER_06 9:15

Yes, I do. I am playing ball, you know, and uh we had basketball? Basketball. You would I used to bust your ass? That type of basketball? Oh, okay, got it. You are you were okay, man. Stop it, man. You were okay. Don't get too crazy. Don't get too crazy. We we had a pretty good team back there. We had a bunch of little amoebas, man. Just go. But um, yeah, when when did I become decided I wanted to be a cop? Well, they were there were two times, right? So the first time was um we in the park, we're playing uh, I don't know if you remember uh Abney, 110 sergeant. Remember Abney with the handle? So he he lived around the way, right? And you know, he could play, you know, and he's playing with us, man. I came to find out he's a cop. I was like, oh, cops can play ball.

SPEAKER_04 9:59

You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_06 10:00

Like, cops can play ball. So, you know, uh watching him and you know the way how he carried himself, my um, my baseball coach, my uh little league baseball coach, he was uh uh two-star, not two-star, a uh second grader in Midtown South. You know what I mean? So he was a huge influence, right? Because most of the guys that I hung out with, we played basketball and baseball, and we were all on his baseball team. You know what I mean? So, you know, he was a huge influence on us. And then the uh I said two times, so those two times are together. And then the next time was I'm uh transit bus operator, I took the test. I was like, ah, let me just take the test. I I had no interest in it. When the results came out, I'm talking to different guys, like transit, we make money, we have money. There was one guy, right, one dispatcher. He said, Let me tell you something. If there is a career that people really want, and he's not talking about us, that they really want that career, that's the career you should be going to. Right there, I went home, I thought about it, I said, Man, I'm going. And I think it's the best thing ever because uh, you know, I have friends that did retire from transit, and and pension is nowhere. The numbers ain't no three-star cheap numbers. I promise you that. And the pro and and the opportunity to move up is not as good. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 11:23

Oh, the opportunity is why I tell all of these kids forget all what you see on TV. The only way you make changes to get in there. If you don't like the police, just go in there. And I'm telling you, you're gonna be able to get house two cars white picket fence. But it's kind of hard, you know, sometimes it's hard talking to these kids.

SPEAKER_06 11:38

It is well that that's the thing. Well, we gotta keep on doing it, man. Yeah, yeah. You know, we gotta get get involved socially, you know, all of that good stuff.

SPEAKER_05 11:45

Now, starting in the 114, how was those early patrol days? And how did they prepare you for everything that followed?

SPEAKER_06 11:53

Well, the patrol wasn't um wasn't an issue. As you know, when we first got there, there were some issues, right? Uh with certain people, with lockers and stuff like that. Uh well, you gotta remember, so we were we were the first crewmen.

SPEAKER_05 12:06

The first it was only 28 black offices in the 114. It was like 400 cops. It was 28 of us spread out. But it was 28 of us dropped in there at the same time.

SPEAKER_06 12:17

Right, that's what I'm saying. So that's where it was like we had some tension and issues. There were some cultural problems, I'll put it that way. You know what I mean? You know, I remember one particular thing, I you know, I'm not gonna get into it, but it's like, you know, you guys are not gonna be in a locker next to me. Like, what? What you think I'm listening to you? And I mentioned Tommy Pilkington. He was the one that came in and I'm like, nah, we're not doing that. Right. He was my little protector, man. Yeah, yeah. He wasn't having it, man.

SPEAKER_05 12:44

Oh, it's funny because I got a story in the book that I talk about. I won't say his name, but I'll tell you after we finish. He probably was like six foot six, mustache, worked on date toes or four to twelve. And I was rookie, came in with my flu. I was in Atlanta, he didn't watch TV, probably basketball. He came right in, turned the TV, sat down. I flipped the fucking, I flipped the whole table over, flipped the table over. I'm like, you motherfucker. Some people ran that freaking crazy. We get the whole rookie aging thing. But at least even if you would have been like, Rook, I'm watching the TV. But you just don't turn it. Right. But those were some of the issues. I got an idea who it was. I got no idea who it was. Yeah, two D's in his name. Yeah. Now you worked as narcotics officer. As a matter of fact, I took the sergeant's test. You, Stoney, we all went to Nicolas. Rodney, all of y'all went to narcotics, and y'all always calling me saying, Yo, yo, you need to come to narcotics. And I was like, fuck that. I want to be y'all boss. I do remember. And I passed the sergeant's test, and all of y'all was like, oh shit.

SPEAKER_06 14:00

Yeah, I remember the uh conversations we had, you know, regarding um the sergeant shield and the detective shield. Yeah. You know, uh, listen, one thing, you know, you were very influential in that. You know, I I had once again, did not plan to come on a job. Did not plan on being a boss. But I came, I came out the army. The military.

SPEAKER_05 14:20

So I I kind of knew the power structure.

SPEAKER_06 14:22

Right, right. But listen, man, you schooled us on that. Yeah, totally. You know, that's because everybody's just said, you know what? It's time to move on to, you know, this. I was seeing y'all pass the test.

SPEAKER_05 14:32

I was like, yes, because I need help.

SPEAKER_06 14:34

I was the only one. You did it, but we all especially with our age group. But think about it. We all went, you know, we're saying we went to Nakata, but we all had to go in as UCs. I know. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't like none of us went in as investigators.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:47

You know, and we all had like four or five years on. You know what I mean? And all of us were collar dudes. The the arrest numbers were way up, but now you gotta come in as an undercover. All right, listen, I want that share.

SPEAKER_05 14:59

I'm glad. I'm just glad y'all got out of there. Right. What did that assignment in narcotics teach you about the streets? Because I mean, you kind of already knew about the streets.

SPEAKER_06 15:09

Well, what happens is that walking as an undercover, you know, every single corner looks suspicious after that. You know what I mean? Even to today, I drive down something boulevard and I'm like this. You know what I mean? I remember that corner, I remember that corner. Yeah, this is where, you know, these dudes chased me or whatever it may be. So everything is different, man. But as far as narcotics is concerned, it was a great learning experience. You know, you became a different type of cop. You thought differently. You know what I mean? I hey listen, I'm still happy that I went through that. I'm happy that I went through all of my different assignments because all of them gave me some piece of knowledge that I took to where I ended up.

SPEAKER_05 15:48

That's good. That's a segue, right? You must have had my questions because that's a segue right into the next question. You let in so many different commands from precincts to Intel, internal affairs. How did you adapt your leadership style across such different environments?

SPEAKER_06 16:04

Well, you know, my leadership style is uh very inclusive. Very inclusive. So I I try to pick the brains of the who I deem to be people that want to progress, right? That want to move the department forward, that want to move that particular command forward. It's always some people that they are gonna work. And the people that don't want to work, listen, we assign them to different assignments where they can do to help you, right? As far as my style, once again, it's inclusive, and I try to put that all the way through my recommend. My last command as the chief of internal affairs, I try to to my best was give everybody a fair shake, right? It was always a fair shake. I was there as a lieutenant, and and what I thought about it, it was all about okay, we're not I I didn't see it as a true investigative unit. What I saw is as a got you and a penal unit. That I tried to change that. I tried to say, well, we're gonna investigate it thoroughly, right? Come to a decision, and then listen, let the chips fall where they may. Right. But make sure it's it has to be a thorough investigation. Right. What I noticed back then and what I'm noticing now, and that's just by what I'm hearing. It's like, let's just hammer somebody and then we'll do an investigation. You know what I mean? For the life of me, I don't understand that.

SPEAKER_05 17:26

Rising to the rank of bureau chief is no small feat. I just went through it. 11 or 12 different ranks. What kept you grounded? Because you've been the same person. Thank you. Appreciate that. Your game didn't get better, but you've been the same person. You've never changed.

SPEAKER_06 17:41

Well, the thing is this, man, the rank doesn't make the person. The rank just does not make the person. But we know a few people that but the thing is, you gotta treat people fairly and you gotta treat people like people, right? Because the thing is this, you know, like they say, whatever you see going up, you're gonna see coming down. That's right. You know what I'm saying? And my thing is always we we're gonna get this done. We're gonna do it, and I'm gonna be always fair. You can never ever say that I was not fair. Listen, there are times that you need to, you know, give somebody a little push and they're gonna get it. But for the most part, NYPD, police officers, sergeants, lieutenants, they want to work. They want to help. Right? All they need is direction. Right. You know what I mean? All they need is direction. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 18:29

All right, we're at this part of Corey's Corner where I have a game called Spitfire Round. I'm gonna ask you 10 rapid fire questions. You're gonna give me one-word answers, hopefully not both. All right, but it's fun. You ready? Alright, let's go. Brooklyn or Panama? Brooklyn. Patrol or UC undercover work? UC undercover work. Basketball. The first half. Basketball or golf? Oh, basketball. You know, that's my love. Early tour or late tour? Early tour. Leave from the front or leave from behind? Oh, from the front, always. You know, the young boys would be like, pause. Pause. Hardest rank to earn. Sergeant. I knew you were gonna say that. Yeah. Most misunderstood unit in the NYPD. Internal affairs. One word to describe internal affairs. Fear. Depends on the leader. Yeah, I was gonna have a caveat to that. Okay. Discipline or loyalty? Which matters more? Discipline. Legacy or impact? Impact. Okay. Thank you for participating in the five week. Absolutely. That was good.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Hi, I'm Tara Wallace. Check out Corey's Corner on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

SPEAKER_05 19:47

Before we move forward, let me take you somewhere for a second. Everything we talk about on this show power, accountability, loyalty, redemption, it's not just the conversations for me. I lived it, I earned it, I survived it. I've seen both sides of the system. I walked the streets, I'm on the badge. I've carried the weight of decisions that changed people's lives. That's why I wrote Once a Cop. It's not just a book, it's the raw, unfiltered truth about the journey from the corners of the streets of Queens, New York to the shiny hallways of NYPD headquarters, One Police Plaza. The pressure, the politics, the purpose, the course. And the documentary, A Cops and Robbers Story, pulls the curtain back even further. No headlines, no sound bites, just the human story behind the uniform. Because behind every badge is a man, behind every rank is a story, and behind every story is a choice. Now word from our sponsor.

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SPEAKER_05 21:18

Now let's get back to it. As chief of internal affairs, you were responsible for holding officers accountable. How do you balance loyalty to the job with the responsibility of enforcing integrity?

SPEAKER_06 21:31

Loyalty to the job. The first thing, if you come to work every day, you have to make sure that the job is protected as a chief of internal affairs. That is your job, right? Make sure that the job is all the accountability to make the job keep on moving forward. Definitely.

SPEAKER_05 21:53

Are you the second black chief of internal affairs?

SPEAKER_06 21:56

Rodney was the first. Well, he was. I was the I'm the three star. Chief. Rodney was a chief there. He was one of he had one of the divisions.

SPEAKER_05 22:04

Oh, I thought he was chief of internal affairs.

SPEAKER_06 22:06

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_05 22:06

So you're the first one. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Nice, nice, nice. In today's climate, trust and policing is a major issue. You know that. What do you believe departments must do to maintain and build trust back?

SPEAKER_06 22:23

Well, the communication. Right? You have to be transparent. You have to communicate to the to the public. I don't know if you recall during the um the the Bratton days, I would say, right? Where we were going out there, and even the Kelly days, so it's the end of the Kelly days. You were mandated to make sure that you're going out to uh the different churches, civic groups, and connecting, right? I I remember in course from like uh the house of worship course.

SPEAKER_05 22:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 22:52

Chief O'Neill and these guys, you know, listen, uh, what are you doing this weekend? You visiting this and every weekend, and and listen, that was part of your job, you know, as a precinct commander. That's right. That was your part of your job to go out there and meet people. All right, make sure that you know your clergy liaisons are with you, you know, and it I think it worked. I mean, listen, you and I we did PSA too. Ms. Boone said, you know, I've rebanded her review, right? When you go out there and, you know, they see the big white shirt walking around the um the developments, they're not used to that.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

Right. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_06 23:27

She said the only per other person to do that was um Pagis. She used to call you Pagaies. You know what I mean? But you know that I I I always found out to be, you know, the the the best way to communicate. You let people know that you're out there, you you're out there for them. You know, that that's how you build trust, that's how you build um, you know, uh empathy, even with the police department. Because the other big thing was during impact, oh, your cops don't smile. I was like, oh, that's that's what you're concerned about, the cops smiling? Okay, that's an easy one, guys. You know, when you see these folks that just say hello. I'll go to roll calls and tell them to do that. Right. You know, and listen, it doesn't hurt you. Right. I mean, you're still doing your job, you sit on the corner making sure you're keeping people safe.

SPEAKER_05 24:11

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06 24:12

You know, but you know, if that is your biggest complaint, wow.

SPEAKER_05 24:16

Must be doing something good.

SPEAKER_06 24:18

I'm good. I'm good.

SPEAKER_05 24:19

What's the biggest misconception people have about internal affairs?

SPEAKER_06 24:24

That that uh investigations aren't done. It's just let's just and and listen, did I feel like that in the past? Yes. You know, like you know, so let's cut the chase.

SPEAKER_05 24:34

All right. I'm gonna let you answer this, but you know, as a cop, we identify an IB as the rat squad. Well, the the tradition, that's what the rat squad, but they still you went all the way to the top, so you got a whole different aspect from when I was a cop. You know, it was like, we don't want to talk internal affairs, those guys are rats.

SPEAKER_06 24:56

Well, internal affairs is the investigative. Listen, you I I wish the department was that wholesome that you didn't need internal affairs, but you do. Yeah, of course. You do. You know what I mean? It it's some it's some bad people out there. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And bad people that work with us. You know, the the thing is, you know, uh for the most part, I would say 98%, 99.3% of the the uh our MOS are good people. They come to work, they they do their job, and they go home. But there's that small percentage that, you know, they think that, you know, the the job is a feeding field where you know they can do whatever they want, and uh, you know, it just doesn't go like that.

SPEAKER_05 25:35

Now you know you put numbers. I but when I was on the daily show with Trevor Noah, I said that like 96% of the cops are good. They told me up on Twitter. It's like, well, no, but 118,000 cops are good in America.

SPEAKER_06 25:52

That's my opinion. That's my opinion. That's my opinion. You know, and I've got a very strong opinion. I I go I go there every day, you know. Uh, and and listen, I had don't forget, I've seen the numbers, right? I see the allegations that come in, you know, and most of them could probably be us anyway, right? Yeah, but the thing, but you still have to investigate them to the fullest.

SPEAKER_05 26:14

Right.

SPEAKER_06 26:14

You know, that that was my whole thing. Like, uh I remember when I first took over the job, uh, a couple of jobs, you know, uh dog comes in, you know, we we do what we call a call out, right? And I send and and I put the most effort into a call out because the thing is this to me, the the biggest part of an investigation is the start of the investigation, right? If you don't gather as much as you can at the beginning of that investigation, then you know it you you really like you you're really trying to catch up, right? So we we we had a um call out. Um I'm not gonna say exactly what it was or where it was, but it was something where two cops were involved. I says, okay, we just start this investigation. It was on a weekend, I think it was a Saturday. The amount of calls that I got as to whether we're suspending or modifying. And I'm talking about, you know, all the way down to City Hall. I'm sitting like, can we do our investigation, please? You know what I mean? Okay, so you're in four hours. No, can we do our investigation, please? Let me put it together, right? And then I'll give you the finished product. Right. You know, and if if if if that's what it's called for, fine. If if it doesn't call for that, and and ended up that, and and that was several, several times. You know, ended up that, you know, the cops were, you know, even though something happened, it wasn't something that, you know, um led to criminality or or led to egregiousness. You know, people lie too. People make allegations that and and and it it's great when you can find, you know, you look at video, whatever it may be, and you can find out the truth. At the end of the day, what are we seeking? The truth. Right. Yeah, we're not seeking to like um, you know, do some money or uh, you know, get numbers. We're looking for the truth.

SPEAKER_05 28:07

Right now, the bombshell NYPD sex abuse scandal shook the foundation of internal affairs. Critics say the very unit meant to police misconduct missed clear red flags. Do you believe this was a failure of leadership, a breakdown in systems, or willful blindness?

SPEAKER_06 28:29

The the the And we're talking about the Jeff Madrick. No, no, no. That that has nothing to do with the um NYP internal affairs. I'm gonna tell you that right now, right? Talking about missing red flags, red flags of what? You know, what what what was it that was missed? You know, that that that overtime. Let's talk about this. Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 28:50

Let me ask you the question. Because this was the red flag, this is the scandal, anyway, right? That's well, that's all over the newspaper. Who in charge of overtime?

SPEAKER_06 28:59

It's not the internal affairs, it's not the internal affairs.

SPEAKER_05 29:03

I can answer that. The thing is, I could answer that. You know who's in charge of overtime in NYPD? It comes out of the first deputy commissioner's office.

unknown 29:14

Right.

SPEAKER_06 29:14

Right. All of this, you know, it's amazing how you have a new commissioner that comes in. That new commissioner, two weeks into it, uh, tells you, listen, you're taking over the investigation. After the quote unquote investigation was being done. You're taking over the investigation. And then two weeks later, you hear that you didn't do a good job on the investigation. What investigation? You gave me this two weeks, and you're telling me I and that's what you put in the paper? That it's it wasn't a good investigation? Okay, okay. So basically, you was you was the you was the scapegoat. Well, listen, man. My my thing is this. You had a new police commissioner decided that uh, you know, she wanted her person in place, and and I saw it coming, you know. Uh had me answering to someone that, you know, that I have no idea who the hell they are, you know, and you know, going to this person. Uh, and listen, the new commissioner, and and listen, one thing that I can tell you is this when you take that third star, you know, new administration come in, there's a chance that you listen, you won't be part of it. Uh-huh. Which is fine. Which is fine. Which is fine. You know, uh, you know, you decide to go a different way. That's that's fine. 34 years on the job, I'm good. You know, but the thing that followed was the concerning part. You know, why does a new commissioner feel like they have to justify making a move by spinning lies and you know, misleading statements? It is, you know, I thought it was very, it was very classless, unprofessional. You know, the thing is, if if you decide you want to go a different way, I've had many times when I come into new commands and I say, listen, I'm gonna go with my person. Right. I don't have to do that. You know, you're the police commissioner of the New York City Police Department. No, no, no, no, no. Yeah, you you don't just, you know, you do make your move and keep it moving.

SPEAKER_05 31:10

We do that all the time. You come in, you say, hey, let me go. I'm looking to do something different. Right. But the way they made this is what fucking bothered me because, like, you know, you're my brother. Like, I'm looking in the newspaper and they got you like almost like you the scapegoat. That's what it seems to me. From the outside looking, and when this thing happens on Friday, I'm at the booking off party on Friday. Saturday is, I think Jeff resigned on Saturday, and then I guess she called you in on Sunday or whatever. Saturday, this Saturday, the same day. But it made it seem like you was a scapegoat, which is and you're not even in charge of overtime.

SPEAKER_06 31:50

Not in any way. Not in any way. Gave me the investigation for two weeks.

SPEAKER_05 31:55

So this investigation gotta be just from the outside, I'm not intimately involved. Overtime, they all talking about overtime and they're talking about sexual misconduct. So you obviously didn't get no sexual misconduct allegations because you would have investigated those. And you're not in charge of overtime. Do you think that race played a part?

SPEAKER_06 32:15

I I'm not gonna go there. You know, but but I I am concerned about the fact that, you know, other cases that I saw that, you know, were being played out in the papers, you know, instead of being uh done investigations. You know what I mean? The thing is, um what if if you are gonna put out allegations and put them in the papers, right, you better be sure that, and this is how we always work. You better be sure that, you know, those allegations, you can prove them, right? Right, and you have evidence, you know. But there have been several, I mean, you you know very well, there have been several um uh um in investigations that are done in the paper. You know, PR, I call them PR investigations. They're not they're not, you know, they're not true investigations where you could, you know, get to the bottom of it and then you put it in, you know. Listen, after you find somebody that they did wrong, by all means. Right. By all means, because listen, nobody wants somebody that's gonna have the department looking bad. Right? I mean, we have one one particular case where you know there's no way that you can tell me an inspector is making these type of decisions, right? You know, without upper upper level management. Yes. You know what I mean? How does that happen? Yeah, you know what I mean? You you have another thing where, you know, a bunch of allegations, they put it on the paper and then find the person guilty for something minor. Like, what are we doing here?

SPEAKER_05 33:45

You know, it just looks like it's a mockery, man. It just looks like it's a whole mockery. And the police commissioner was brought in to clean it all up.

SPEAKER_06 33:53

Well, listen, I I have other than that, I tell you the truth, it needed to be reindeer. You know, there were a lot of um, you know, stuff that was going on. I'll tell you the truth. Sometimes I used to come to work and like, you know, what now? You know what I mean? And and but the thing is, like, I I I and I'm gonna tell you this. That's why I was surprised when, you know, the way hi it was done, you know, and was it her? I don't know. But the thing is, you know, I really like when she was coming, I'm like, wow, because um sanitation had asked us to hold some spots, you know, put some of their people into um the internal affairs course. And that's you know, yes, and new city agency, let's go. Uh, and after the course, I get an email that really impressed me. You know what I mean? The email from the uh commission of sanitation saying, you know, thank you seemed just very genuine and humble. It's like, wow, this is this is impressive. Uh huh. You know what I mean? But then, you know, to to see uh, you know, when when and and listen, was it predetermined? Yeah, you know, you had your person, but I just didn't like the way it was done.

SPEAKER_05 34:59

Yeah, it was done very distasteful for sure.

SPEAKER_06 35:03

So I'll tell you what, a lot of what was going on across the street was being pushed on to to say that it's part of the NYPD. And which, you know, listen, there's a lot of stuff that was going on over there, and they try to assimilate it onto the NYPD. Um listen, I haven't seen there was there's been only one indictment so far. And that one we knew we knew I I knew for a fact that was coming. Yeah, I mean, right, you know, other than that, I mean, uh, listen, the Southern District, well, I stayed away from them. They said they had it. I said, I, you know, my guys, whatever they need, give to them. Um and my federal guys, you know, please don't have them part of this. Right. Let them, you know what I mean. Um, one thing I'm gonna tell you, there was one entity in the NYPD that was dealing with that all the time, right? And that particular entity, you know, and and that's why I thought it was another travesty where they did to the group one guys. You go, guys were very hard-working people.

SPEAKER_05 36:02

Group one of the investigators who investigate captains in the buff. Right.

SPEAKER_06 36:08

You know, they they broke up those guys and you know, made them feel like, you know, they did something. And the thing is this, they didn't have any guys? Yeah, they didn't have no communication with anybody related to any of those things, you know, all other than you know, they had one particular case, you know. Um, but the the the entity that was there's there was one entity that was dealing with the Southern District. One entity. Just one. You know what I mean? So, you know, how that entity did not call cough to task is you know, is is concerning. It's very concerning, you know. But listen, I I say that I'm looking from the outside now. I'm looking for the It's doesn't it look so nice, right? Very, very well uh happy about looking from the outside. Yes, it's so much clearer out here.

SPEAKER_05 36:56

It's so much clearer. So I keep telling all y'all cops, if you got your time, don't be afraid. You can leave. It's all right. Legala tells you, I'll tell you the only thing you gotta give her. Used to, if you marry, you ready to see him or her every day, all day long, 24-7? If you're not, you better stay at work. Okay, you studied at institutions, um, like Harvard Kennedy School, Columbia. How did that executive education shape your approach to leadership and decision making?

SPEAKER_06 37:29

Well, I'm I'm gonna tell you this uh the Harvard experience, and listen, the the job does a good the job does a good job with that. Right? They send out the executives to these different things, so you can see different perspectives. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:41

Yeah, I went to I I went through the um PMI, police management, right? The Columbia one. That was nice. Well, you went there, you was at you went to you went to the.

SPEAKER_06 37:48

No, I didn't I didn't do that. I did I did the um the I forget the Southern Institute. Well, I I did the um the Harvard, the Harvard, and then I did the Southern Institute. So, but the Harvard, that was the the one because you weren't just with police officers. Right. Managed senior manager. You were with um, you know, city manager. I never knew a city manager. They like mayors, right? Yeah, they actually run the place, you know. You could have a mayor and you can have a city manager. The city manager is running the place.

SPEAKER_05 38:20

Yeah, I was finding this police commissioner for Long Beach. Oh, really? The city manager.

SPEAKER_06 38:25

Okay. Yeah. All right, I tell you, man, because I met a couple of city men, very, very dynamic individuals, man. Very difficult. I didn't understand that.

SPEAKER_05 38:34

Yeah, like you had the mayor, but the city manager's in charge. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 38:38

Because we're used to like this exactly thing. Exactly. Then you had um, you know, politicians, and and some of these people folks, uh, you know, you hear their views of stuff. Hey, listen, we cops, you know, New York City cops. We think we hot stuff. Uh, but we you go in there, you hear some of the uh views of some of these folks from across the country, man. You you start to change, you start, and and that I guess that's the reason that they send you. You have to broaden your horizon. You have to broaden the way how you look at things, man. Yes. You know what I mean? And and it it was I I really found that very rewarding. That that particular um course was very rewarding.

SPEAKER_05 39:13

Nice. Can you point to a specific moment or decision in your career where that executive trainer directly influenced you how to lead or handle pressure? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 39:24

Right. Well, I I'm gonna tell you the the biggest part was um they were they we had a nice little round table where uh you had to pick your command staff, right? And people were picking different people. So I picked the folks that I knew, you know, and um that professor went at me. You know, why'd you pick these people? Uh I don't see a woman there. Even though at the command, my staff was I I always thought about that, you know what I mean? Let's let's get very talented people, you know what I mean, to take care of stuff, man. But you know, he hit me pretty hard with that. And you know, Harvard, you know, they're they're very, you know, leftly thinking, you know what I mean. This this guy, you know, he tried to put his stuff on you. And listen, I I'm not right, I'm not left, I'm more center, you know. But the stuff that he was coming up with, it's like, come on, man. And then we had uh another uh senator from uh Colorado, you know, but but it was it was interesting. It was interesting.

SPEAKER_05 40:21

My sister, Phyllis, y'all been married 40 years, yeah. Wow, yeah, my son is gonna turn 40.

SPEAKER_06 40:27

Y'all really actually uh the 18th.

SPEAKER_05 40:33

Wow, 39. And y'all raised beautiful family boys. Of course. How did you maintain that balance? You know, I had to do it. And what role did your family play in the world? Listen, man, it's all just her, man.

SPEAKER_06 40:45

I I all all be to her, man. You know what I mean? You you see how she is, man. She's like this, man. Uh-huh. She kept she kept the family tight, man. Uh, you know, like I said, you know, I worked to try to get to the boys, but she was always there. You know, uh, whatever sporting events or whatever, till I got home. Right. You know, she she held it down. That's what people understand.

SPEAKER_05 41:06

When you go into these type of professions, police corrections, even nurses and stuff, you on the clock. Yeah. You gotta have somebody.

SPEAKER_06 41:14

And the other part, she held it down, plus, she was doing her own thing. Yeah, you know what I mean. She was maintaining her own life, her whole career. Uh-huh. You know, uh, listen, man. Uh, I'm I I'm very thankful for her. Very, very thankful for her.

SPEAKER_05 41:29

Shout out, fellas. When it's all said and done, what you want your legacy to be? Not just chief, but as a man, a mentor, and leader. Family, man. Family. That was easy.

SPEAKER_06 41:42

I like that answer. You know what I mean? Family. Because the thing is, like, you know, and and I'm appreciating them even more now, you know, that I'm home. You know, I I love my family, bro.

SPEAKER_05 41:54

I love it, man. I love it. It's nice, man. Nice to hear this on Corbiscorn. Family, man. Miguel. Before we wrap, is there anything you like to share that we haven't covered?

SPEAKER_06 42:06

Well, as far as sharing is listen, um, and this is to your audience out there, you know, the the younger cops that, you know, going through all the overtime and everything like that. Um, listen, the the thing is, there's uh for the POs, there's a sergeant that's coming out in February, as the rumors is being told out there, you have to study. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. All right. You come to work every day, you go home, put a little study in it. For everybody else, you know, you know, and the executives, you know, just keep on treating your cops fairly. You know, make sure that your cops are being treated fairly. You know, that's that's that's the best thing that you can do for them. All right. And always a mentorship. Always a mentorship. You know, you guys with the and listen, guys with five years now gotta be mentors because it's a young job. It's a young job. But the thing is that, you know, you have you know, 15 years on the job. You know, we had we had certain people that, you know, took care of us. You know what I mean? As we were coming up, uh pigdon, yeah, right? I think that's the best example that you could ever think of as far as that's concerned. He came in and just like, come on, guys, listen, you know what I mean? Mentorship. Make sure that you're taking care of the young ones.

SPEAKER_05 43:21

Well, Miguel Asias, this was a powerful conversation, Miguel. You gave us real insight into the leadership, accountability, and what it truly means to rise through the ranks by carrying a weight of responsibility. Your story isn't just about policing, it's about discipline, resilience, and legacy. On behalf of myself and the rest of the team, and everyone listening, thank you for your decades of service. I love you, my brother. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming on Corey's Corner. Absolutely. To our listeners, if you found value in today's episode, make sure you follow, subscribe, and support. This has been another episode. Of Corey's Corner. Until next time, keep pushing, keep grinding, and always remember, it's not about where you start, it's always about where you finish. I'm Corey Pegis, and I always keep it right, not real. Peace. Corey's Corner is powered by Story to Tell Productions. If you're serious about starting a podcast or taking your production to the next level, this is the team you need. Reach out to Story to Tell Productions and get it done the right way.

SPEAKER_02 44:27

Special thanks to our executive producer, our engineers, and much respect to corrupt mob for making Corey's Corner possible.

SPEAKER_03 44:37

Alpha one thing we should celebrate redemption instead of condemning it. Corey Pegis. Stop talking shoot, bruh. Check it out. Once a cap, I used to hug the blood.