The highest paid employee of the NYPD – who joined Over $400,000 last year — applied for retirement this week amid an internal affairs investigation into his astronomical overtime, The Post has learned.
Lt. Quathisha Epps will retire after completing 20 years with the department — an early exit would affect her pension and cost her an additional $12,000 a year for cops who reach two decades, sources said.
Leaving money on the table seems uncharacteristic of Epps, who raised eyebrows last year by pulling in nearly $204,000 in overtime for her administrative job. Office of NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey MaddreyPayroll records show.
Sources told The Post that Epps’ heavy overtime was limited following The Post’s exclusive report on his pay last month. She was also told she would be put back on patrol – an apparently distasteful prospect after her comfortable desk job, according to sources.
“There’s no way he’s out on patrol,” a source told The Post.
Epps, 51, also faces an internal affairs investigation into his overtime charges, sources said.
Records showed that last year she worked about 1,627 hours of overtime in addition to her regular shifts, or an average of about 74 hours per week.
The overtime, as well as his $164,477 base salary, brought Epps’ total compensation to more than $400,000 – and made him the highest-paid NYPD employee.
By comparison, her boss, Maddrey, earned about $292,000 the same year, records show.
Apps’ eye-watering overtime work has irritated many ordinary policemen.
“What administrative work requires you to be there 115 to 120 hours a month to put in that kind of money?” A Bronx policeman complained to The Post last month.
Faced with the fear of patrol duty and investigation, Epps filed paperwork for vested severance retirement on Monday, according to information obtained by The Post.
His last day will be January 14.
Early retirement after 19 means he will receive about half of his pension, but he is still expected to collect about $16,000 a month, sources said.
The department has 30 days to investigate before the pension is implemented.
Epps declined to comment when contacted by The Post on Wednesday.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.
-Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
(TagstoTranslate)Metro
