BREAKING: NYPD officer fired for MAGA ties files federal lawsuit against department

A 14-year veteran of the New York City Police Department has filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer and the city after he was allegedly fired for having close ties to Roger Stone "and others who support Trump's America and the 'political' paradigm of 'Making America Great Again.'"

Salvatore Greco has filed a lawsuit against the City of New York, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Ernest Hart, Commanding Officer of Internal Affairs Bureau Group 25 Daniel Cutter, and Sergeant of Internal Affairs Bureau Group 25 Jeremy Orenstein for violations of the First Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

According tot he lawsuit, on or about January 22, 2021, the Internal Affairs Bureau Command Center received an anonymous letter that stated: "To whom it may concern —I am writing to the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau about the D.C. take-ver. PO Salvatore Greco CTTF, and PO Gregory Nealon 60 pct., attended the riot at Capitol hill. These officers want to have a civil war in America."

The command center also received information including pictures that showed Greco "'associating' with Roger Jason Stone, Jr., a self-proclaimed 'agent provocateur' who served as strategic counsel to GOP candidates since the 1960s including President Donald J. Trump."

The lawsuit notes that in November of 2019, Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine. In 2020, trump commuted Stone’s prison sentence.

The Internal Affairs Bureau Command Center also received information including photos that Greco was "association" with Kristin M. Davis, "previously known as the Manhattan Madam, accused of operating a high-end prostitution ring catering to high-profile clients."

Davis plead guilty in 2008 and served four months on Rikers Island for prostitution, and was sentenced in 2014 to two years in prison for drugs charges.

The lawsuit takes note of NYPD Patrol Guide Procedure No.: 203-10, Page 1, Paragraph 2(a), which states that "wrongfully and knowingly associated with any person or organization advocating hatred, oppression, or prejudice based on race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, or disability."

Paragraph 2(c) states that "wrongfully and knowingly associated with a person, reasonably believed to be engaged in, likely to engage in or to have engaged in criminal activities."

In regards to both of these sections, the lawsuit states, "This rule is 'overbroad' and its' application is in contravention of the First Amendment and must be stricken."

"Plaintiff alleges that the anonymous letter does not suggest he engaging in criminal activities much less with Roger Jason Stone, Jr., Kristin M. Davis or anyone else, the letter suggests 'a civil war with America,’" the lawsuit states.

Greco alleges that the letter is "political" in nature, "because of his first amendment right to support Trump’s America and the 'political' paradigm of 'Making America Great Again.'"

Despite Greco’s claims, the city and the police department opened a criminal investigation into Greco’s political activities, assigning Cutter and Orenstein to oversee it. This investigation went through around January 22 through May 20, 2021.

Greco alleges that during this time span, Orenstein and Cutter interviewed the co-founder of the Oath Keepers, Joshua Adam James, who conformed that Greco was in Washington DC between January 5 and 6, 2021, "but did not partake in anything illegal or violent."

Cutter and Orenstein also reviewed Greco’s social media accounts, which contained photos with Stone, Davis, pRoud Boys Members including Chairman Henry Tarrio, aka Enrique Tarrio, as well as Oath Keepers members.

"Plaintiff alleges that during the aforementioned time period, there is no activity on his social media accounts that indicate he was involved in any criminal or subversive activities to overthrow the United States government," the lawsuit states.

Cutter and Orenstein also performed audits of several NYPD-maintained law enforcement databases, "which did not uncover improper inquiries inconsistent with its intended use or that support he was involved with criminal or subversive activities to overthrow the United States government."

Working with Internal Affairs Bureau Group 2, Cutter and Orenstein received a financial analysis of Greco’s profile, which showed no transactions "inconsistent with the lawful use of the American banking system or that support he was involved with criminal or subversive activities to overthrow the United States government."

Cutter and Orenstein also performed an audit of Greco’s department cellular telephone records as well as an "offline" search of his name, which came up clean.

During the investigation, Cutter and Orenstein allegedly told Hart that the city and Sewell needed to use administrative subpoena powers to "investigate allegations of association narcotics…due to he allegedly attending the rioting on Capitol Hill, criminal association with Roger Jason Stone, Jr. (Trump advisor), Kristin M. Davis (Manhattan Madam —Prostitution) and OATH Keepers (Anti-government group)."

The lawsuit states that Cutter and Orenstein abused the administrative subpoena powers issued under NYC’s administration code.

Amongst other abuses, Cutter and Orenstein allegedly "improperly" reviewed surveillance records from the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, which indicated that Greco was staying there at the time alongside Stone and members of the Oath Keepers.

Greco also alleges that Cutter and Orenstein surveilled him off-duty on four occasions.

On April 27, 2021, Cutter signed Departmental Charges and Specifications approved by the city and Sewell, which accused him of "wrongfully and knowingly associating with person[s], Roger Jason Stone, Jr., and Kristin M. Davis, reasonably believed to be engaged in, likely to engage in, or to have engaged in criminal activities" along with related department charges.

"Plaintiff alleges that other than his personal 'familial' and 'political' relationships with Roger Jason Stone, Jr., and Kristin M. Davis, Defendants' DANIEL CUTTER and JEREMY ORENSTEIN were unable to establish any 'credible' evidence he was involved in any criminal or subversive activities with them to overthrow the United States government," the lawsuit states.

On June 10, 2021, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Paul M. Gamble reportedly recommended to the city and Sewell that Greco should be found guilty of "wrongfully and knowingly associating with person[s], Roger Jason Stone, Jr., and Kristin M. Davis, reasonably believed to be engaged in, likely to engage in, or to have engaged in criminal activities" along with related department charges except "wrongfully and knowingly associated with any person or organization advocating hatred, oppression, or prejudice based on race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, or disability."

Gamble also recommended that Greco be "separated" from the department "because "Under the circumstances established in the trial record, Respondent's [Plaintiff SALVATORE J. GRECO] continued presence as a Member of the Service would be corrosive to the mission and values of this Department."

Over a year later, on August 4, 2022, the city and Sewell adopted Gamble’s recommendations and dismissed Greco.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants violated Greco’s "freedom of right to intimate association in violation of the first amendment of the United States," his freedom of speech, and issued a Monell claim against the defendants.

In a statement, Greco said, "Despite a 14 year unblemished career of serving the people of New York as a New York City police officer in some of the most dangerous precincts in the city, I was ostensively terminated because I violated an NYPD regulation which prohibits officers from any association with a convicted felon."

"The NYPD has characterized my friendship with Roger Stone in this way," greco continued. "New York Police Department captain Eric Adams consorted, by his own admission with both Mike Tyson and Louis Farrakhan both convicted felons and although there was an investigation he was not terminated or punished by the NYPD in any way.

"Under the law Eric Adams and I must be treated equally therefore I filed a $25 million lawsuit against the New York Police Department. This lawsuit will expose both the illegal seating of the administrative judge in my case as well as corruption by the internal affairs officers that conducted my case.

"The reason that the NYPD has treated me differently in this case is simply because of my support for President Donald Trump and my friendship with Roger Stone. In the course of this political persecution my father sadly passed away. I was also subpoenaed by the January 6 committee which ran up legal fees and I could not afford a funeral for my father. The action taken against me has cost me my reputation, my job, and my life savings.

"Sal Greco is a man of action who says what he does and does what he says. This lawsuit will hopefully begin the cycle where political witch hunts and political persecutions are finally held accountable in a court of law. I look forward for the truth to be finally be revealed in court," his statement concluded.