New York cop accused of sending threatening texts to HERSELF was in 'relationship' with police chief
A police officer accused of sending herself menacing texts to get another officer fired was in a 'sexual relationship' with her chief, a lawsuit claims.
Officer Emily Hirshowitz, 36, is accused of having an 'ongoing' relationship with chief Kevin Sylvester.
The bombshell claim was made by two former officers who say Sylvester forced them both to resign from the police department in Ossining in Upstate New York.
Officers Louis Rinaldi and Andrea Zambrano claim they were suspended without pay after facing internal departmental charges by Sylvester in recent years.
Hirshowitz initially accused Rinaldi of sending threatening messages to her phone before she was arrested last month for sending them to herself.
Ossining officer Emily Hirshowitz, 36, (left) is accused of having an 'ongoing' relationship with Police Chief Kevin Sylvester (right)
Officers Louis Rinaldi (left) and Andrea Zambrano (right) claim they were suspended without pay after facing internal departmental charges by Sylvester in recent years.
She was charged with four counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident and another three counts of first-degree filing a false instrument.
Sylvester allegedly allowed her to remain on paid leave despite the charges, something which the former officers say is a 'lighter punishment' than others had previously received.
'Sylvester told [village officials] that Hirshowitz had been set up by Plaintiffs Rinaldi and Zambrano and personally recommended she not be suspended without pay,' the lawsuit says.
Sylvester is also accused of interviewing other cops 'directly asking each officer if they were aware the Rinaldi was sending the texts.'
The lawsuit against the village and various village officials claims Sylvester tried to point the finger at Rinaldi 'despite having no evidence to support his accusations.'
Rinaldi and Zambrano field their legal action earlier this month, in which they accuse Sylvester of unfairly forcing both of them to resign from their positions, interfering in their pursuits for other police jobs.
They claim that he targeted them both after several clashes, and brought a slew of other allegations against the police chief and the village.
Zambrano joined the force as a paramedic in 2016, and resigned in July 2020, after filing a harassment complaint against Sylvester in April 2019.
Sylvester allegedly allowed her to remain on paid leave despite the charges, something which the former officers say is a 'lighter punishment' than others had previously received.
View this post on Instagram
The lawsuit against the village and various village officials claims Sylvester tried to point the finger at Rinaldi 'despite having no evidence to support his accusations.' Pictured: Hirshowitz alongside Police Chief Kevin Sylvester
Hirshowitz was named '2018 Employee of the Year' by the Rotary Club of Ossining
She claims that he told her to comply with orders that she believes went against her doctor's recommendations.
The lawsuit states that Sylvester complained to her colleagues about the legal costs of the complaint, which was deemed unfounded, with Zambrano requesting to change shift to limit contact with Sylvester.
Unspecified departmental charges were brought against her in April 2020 and she was suspended without pay, with the pandemic delaying the hearings before she claims she was forced to resign.
Her lawyers also claim that Sylvester directed members of the department to acquire data on her personal cars from the county's license plate readers dating back to November 2017.
Officer Rinaldi reached an agreement in April 2022 and resigned in May. He accused Sylvester of indirectly costing him a job he expected to get at Greenburgh Police Department.
Rinaldi claims he was forced to undergo substance abuse rehab in 2018, and was the target of several allegations by Sylvester related to domestic violence instances.
He was handed disciplinary charges in January 2021 after an incident with his fiancé, with Rinaldi undergoing further treatment for substance abuse.
At one point, Hirshowitz suddenly seemed keen on dropping the investigation but her superiors were persistent and wanted to get to the bottom of who was behind the messages
Hirshowitz filed a report with the District Attorney's office in May 2022, claiming to have received threatening texts from several anonymous numbers
In November 2021 there was a second incident, although Rinaldi maintains he was the victim and filed a complaint against Sylvester – who tried to get his fiancée to cooperate against Rinaldi, according to the lawsuit.
Additional disciplinary charges were then brought based on a video purportedly showing Rinaldi ingesting a white powdery substance while off duty in 2019 and Rinaldi was suspended without pay in early December 2021.
The video was provided by his fiancée and the lawsuit contends that Sylvester repeatedly contacted her between November 2021 and March 2022 'to gather information against Rinaldi.'
Lawyers for the village branded the claims as 'ludicrous' telling The Journal News: 'Some (claims) are so ludicrous that you don't dignify them with a denial.
'It appears to me to be a lawsuit out of spite. Allegations are easy and talk is cheap.'
The lawsuit comes about a week after the criminal charges were filed against Hirshowitz, who is set to appear in court on July 12.
She filed a report with the District Attorney's office in May 2022, claiming to have received threatening texts from several anonymous numbers.
Hirshowitz believed fellow police officers from were behind the messages, writing in a complaint 'a fellow police officer or multiple police officers at my department are involved.'
Rinaldi (center) claims he was forced to undergo substance abuse rehab in 2018, and was the target of several allegations by Sylvester related to domestic violence instances.
Hirshowitz blamed the menacing texts on fellow officers within Ossining PD leading to an investigation by police and the District Attorney
Months later, in July and August, Hirshowitz went on to make further complaints, this time including screenshots of messages filled with expletives.
The messages called her 'useless,' 'dumb' and a 'reject,' while others were full of insults and some even suggested she commit suicide.
In August last year her bosses pushed for the DA's office to continue investigating the matter despite Hirshowitz telling the office she no longer wanted to pursue the complaint any longer.
A department-wide meeting was held on August 23 at which the mayor of Ossining attended alongside Sylvester.
A search warrant was obtained for her cellphone and Apple iCloud accounts in October.
Prosecutors found evidence indicating that she controlled several of the phone numbers from which the threatening messages were sent - with at least eight messages emanating from devices owned by her.
Hirshowitz's attorney, Paul DerOhannesian, says more information needs to be gathered regarding the case.
'There's a lot of mystery and confusion surrounding the allegations in this case and we'll evaluate as we learn more,' said DerOhannesian to the The Journal News.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2Bc36YamxpbV%2BDsrh5uKippGWTpL1urcKcrKydlGLAprrDoqWgZaSdv6at056loqaXYsGmxNOsZKudnJbBqrvNrJ%2BiqF2lvK21wp5knKCZmrNvtNOmow%3D%3D