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Ray Kelly's Personal Security Detail Will Cost Taxpayers $1.5 Million
By
Lauren Evans
Published Dec 4, 2013
Modified Dec 4, 2013
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courtesy Shahar Azran Photography / Apollo Theater
By
Lauren Evans
Published Dec 4, 2013
Modified Dec 4, 2013
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New York City is widely expected to descend into bedlam when Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio takes office in January, but fearful taxpayers should rest easy knowing that if nothing else, Ray Kelly will be safe.
Kelly, a former Marine who at 72 still adheres to a strict daily workout regimen, has requested a 10-man security detail to safeguard him once he departs his post as police commissioner in January. That's an extra four officers from his initial request made last month, DNAinfo reports.
The staff will include a lieutenant, three sergeants and six detectives that will encase Kelly and his family 24-hours a day, costing taxpayers an estimated $1.5 million a year. Then again, ten guards seems like relative restraint compared to the 17-man complement Bloomberg will employ, ensuring that the soon-to-be-former mayor lives out his days resting snugly as the nucleus in a heavily armed cytoplasm of security.
Meanwhile, the future commissioner's transition team will continue shivering over a trashcan fire in their makeshift trailer park outside 1 Police Plaza, where their "security detail" is just a rat wrestling with a half-eaten hot dog.
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