New York's Police Commissioner Edward Caban quit Thursday as federal agents look into how the department handles nightclub rules, sources close to the matter say.
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Caban, the first Latino to lead the police force, started in July 2023 after Mayor Eric Adams picked him. Adams' team is now facing several federal investigations.
"The news about recent events has become a distraction for our department. I don't want anything to take my focus away from our important work or the safety of NYPD officers," Caban wrote in an email to NYPD members, which NBC News got to see.
"I really respect and appreciate the brave officers in this department. The NYPD needs someone who can concentrate fully on keeping New York City safe. That's why - for the good of this city and department - I've made the tough choice to step down as police commissioner," the email said.
Adams spoke later Thursday and said he was putting Thomas Donlon in charge for now. Donlon knows a lot about national security and used to run the FBI's National Threat Center and the FBI-NYPD team that fights terrorism.
Last week, agents took Caban's phone around the same time they searched homes of top Adams officials in a different investigation. They looked through First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright's and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III's homes.
James Caban, Edward's twin who owns a nightclub security business, also had his phone taken in the corruption investigation involving the NYPD.
Federal investigators want to know if James Caban made money from his connections to his powerful brother and the NYPD, many sources say. They're checking if James Caban got paid by bars and clubs in Midtown Manhattan and Queens to talk to police for them, and if those places then got special treatment from local police stations, the sources said.
Edward Caban's lawyers said in a statement that he's a "successful public servant who's spent his life working for the safety and security of people in this great city."
"The government told us he's not a target of any investigation by the Southern District of New York, and he plans to help them fully," said the lawyers, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski.
People who speak for the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York didn't answer right away when asked to comment.
In the past year, FBI agents have searched homes of many city officials and people close to Adams. This is part of a separate investigation that might be looking at whether Adams' campaign worked with the Turkish government to get illegal campaign money from foreign sources, given through fake donors.
Someone from City Hall said last week that this latest search didn't seem to be about the Turkey investigation.
Adams has often avoided questions about the investigation while saying he hasn't been officially accused of doing anything wrong.
"I was just as surprised as you to learn about these questions and I take them very seriously," the mayor said Thursday.
He said he accepted Caban's decision to quit a short time ago and decided "this is the best thing to do right now."
"I understand his choice, and I hope things go well for him," Adams added.