New York State Temporary Commission of Investigation Master Case Files

Arranged numerically by subject area and therein sequentially by assigned number.

18266-96: Arranged by last name of individual under investigation.

18266-21: None

The Temporary State Commission of Investigation is authorized to conduct investigations in connection with the execution and enforcement of state laws affecting organized crime and racketeering; the conduct of state and local public officers and employees; and any matter concerning the public peace, public safety and public justice.

Case files in this series may include such material as initial complaints or requests for investigations, correspondence, copies of subpoenas, interview memos and reports, investigator's notes, legal research memos, case status reports, documentary exhibits, auditor's reports, published materials, news clippings, Commission press releases concerning the investigation, case closing memos, and other records.

18266-96: This accretion of master case files documents the Commission's investigation of the "Apalachin Organized Crime Meeting." This was the first investigation conducted by the Commission. The files are organized into sections pertaining to an individual member of organized crime present at the November, 1957, meeting. Each section contains documents regarding the given individual including: criminal histories; surveillance reports; intra and inter-office memoranda and reports; newspaper articles; and subpoenas and related litigation materials. Transcripts of Commission public hearings, as well as hearing transcripts of the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations (a/k/a/ the "Watchdog Committee") are also present.

18266-06: This accretion documents investigations of Syracuse Police Dept. and bingo gambling in New York City and includes related transcripts of public and private hearings.

18266-06A: This accretion documents 1960 investigations of syndicated gambling and real estate tax delinquencies in Albany.

18266-07: This accretion documents cases concerning pistol licensing law and procedures, charges relating to the organization of the 1965 New York State Legislature, charges involving Nassau County officials, organized crime activities and problems of law enforcement in Rochester, an alleged attempt to bribe legislators in connection with the quarter-horse harness race track bill, and usury (loan-sharking).

Other cases concern county jails and penitentiaries, law enforcement problems in Niagara Falls, application to State Liquor Authority for liquor licenses, New York City hospital affiliation program, Troy garbage disposal and other matters, and contract awards and supply purchases in Yonkers.

18266-07A: This accretion contains investigation files on topics such as gambling, jail conditions, misconduct of boards of supervisors, conflicts of interest, illegal construction practices and union activities, contracting practices, and other misconduct by public officials.

18266-08: This accretion contains case files that document police corruption in Albany, law enforcement and gambling in the city of Amsterdam, Westchester County jail disturbance, usury, racketeers in legitimate business, cigarette sales, obscene motion pictures in bookstores, arson, the security guard industry, State Dormitory funds, the solid waste industry, minority business enterprise programs, fencing (sale of stolen property), the Bedford Stuyvesant Urban Development Corporation, tax evasion by boat owners and dealers, and abuses in the Green Haven Correctional Facility.

18266-08A, 18266-08B: Accretion 18266-08A documents investigations of the New York City Board of Education (1960-1961) and Drug Addiction in New York State (1966); Accretion 18266-08B documents narcotics law enforcement and related problems in the New York City metropolitan area.

18266-08C: This accretion documents, among other subjects, contracting practices and procedures of the New York City Board of Education (1975); racketeer infiltration into the ownership of resort properties; New York City prisoner release (1984); World Trade Center move-out; investigation of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission; Local 237 Teamsters Welfare Fund; personnel abuses in the Department of Labor; and Nassau County Police Benevolent Association arbitration.

18266-21: This accretion consists of records related to investigations of organized crime throughout New York State as well as investigations of corruption in local governments, state agencies, school districts, law enforcement agencies, corporations, and unions. Also included are records of investigations into other issues including, but not limited to child abuse; sub-prime lending and mortgage fraud; the building and construction industry; narcotics addiction; and gambling.

B2438Series B2438, Counsel to the Governor Records Relating to Investigations, contains related records.

Series B2831, Temporary Commission of Investigation Public and Private Hearing Transcripts.

Series B2832, Temporary Commission of Investigation Public and Private Reports.

Series B2834, Temporary Commission of Investigation Physical Evidence and Bulky Exhibit Files.

Folder lists are available at the repository.

These records were formerly accessioned as Series 18226.

18266-21: This accretion was transferred to the New York State Archives after the Commission of Investigation ceased operations in 2009.

Partially restricted by Laws of 1958, Chap. 989; Civil Rights Law, section 73.8; Civil Practice Law and Rules, section 3101(b), (c), and (d) and 4503(a); Freedom of Information Law, section 87.2(b), (e)(iii) and (iv), and (g). For further information, please contact the State Archives.

18266-96: Transcript of proceedings of a New Jersey grand jury (Box 6) is restricted. Remainder of the accretion is open for research.