NYPD has filed 13 upgraded disciplinary charges against Lt. John Dandola for a range of misconduct in his two-year investigation into Det. Scott Munro Jr

The detective was stripped of his rank and endured a career stalling 20-month probe for an alleged scuffle in 2018 with fellow officer Jonathan Kriklava at a Long Island firehouse

Munro Jr claims his investigation was actually a retaliatory strike against his dad Scott Munro Sr, secretary of the Detectives Endowment Association – unloved by police brass

He claimed he suffered protracted probing because the man leading the internal police investigation, Lt. John Dandola, has an axe to grind with his dad

Munro Jr was cleared of all charges and reinstated by New York Police Dept. in Jan. 2022

13 departmental charges filed Jan. 26 also allege Dandola failed to conduct interviews of 10 witnesses in the case, failed to re-interview witnesses who contradicted themselves

Dandola was transferred Feb. 9 from Internal Affairs to the Detective Bureau

The discipline process for Dandola is ongoing

A former top investigator for the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau could be fired over departmental charges he skewered a probe of a young detective’s scuffle in a Long Island firehouse in a retributive measure.
Lt. John Dandola is accused of raking the young officer through a drawn out investigation to get at the detective’s father, a high-ranking police union official.
The New York Police Department has filed 13 upgraded disciplinary charges against 25-year department veteran, Lt. John Dandola for a range of misconduct in his two-year investigation into Detective Scott Munro Jr.’s alleged scuffle in 2018 with fellow officer Jonathan Kriklava at a Long Island firehouse.
The new York City detective claimed he was demoted from detective in the elite Auto Crime Division because of an internal affairs investigator’s vendetta against his father, an outspoken police union official.
Over the course of 20 months, Scott Munro Jr., 29, watched his once-blossoming career bogged down by what appeared to be an endless investigation into his role in a supposed minor scuffle at a Long Island firehouse in April 2018.

Kriklava filed a complaint with with Suffolk County police accusing Munro Jr. in the incident at the firehouse in Hauppauge, and the Internal Affairs Bureau and Dandola pursued their own probe against Munro Jr.
Suffolk cops couldn’t find video of a confrontation or witnesses. The only security video they found showed Kriklava in no discomfort. Kriklava withdrew his complaint, NYPD records show.
After Dandola completed his investigation in 2019, the NYPD stripped Munro Jr. of his rank, moved him out of the Detective Bureau’s elite Auto Crime Division, and marooned him on desk duty. He was also forfeited 30 vacation days.
Munro Jr. and those close to him claimed he’s suffered the ordeal because the man leading the internal police investigation, Lt. John Dandola, has an axe to grind with his dad, Scott Munro Sr., a trustee in the 5,000-member Detectives Endowment Association.
“This is about all of the things he (Scott Munro Sr.) has done. He’s constantly been a fly in the ointment,” said William Heiser, a highly decorated retired detective who served 30 years in the NYPD.
“He’s in-your-face. They do not like him. They want to get him and they are doing it through his son.” Scott Munro Sr. is the secretary of the 5,000-member NYPD Detectives Endowment Association.
Shortly after Munro Jr and his father alleged, in a February 2022 letter to Mayor Adams, that Dandola’s zeal was fueled by a grudge against the older Munro, Lt. Dandola and three sergeants stripped Scott Munro Jr. of his rank.
Munro Jr had claimed in an earlier employment complaint, that he overheard Dandola say, “His father’s next, f—– union.”
A sergeant with Dandola allegedly replied, “We’re going to crush him like a f—— cockroach.”

However, in a major reversal, the NYPD cleared Munro Jr. of the charges in January 2022.
He was restored to the rank of detective, and his vacation days were returned. Furthermore, a little over a year later, Dandola faces charges he failed to conduct proper investigations and deleted documents favorable to Munro Jr.
The 13 departmental charges filed Jan. 26 also allege Dandola failed to conduct interviews of 10 witnesses in the case, failed to re-interview witnesses who contradicted themselves, omitted key Suffolk County police and fire documents from the case file, and failed to supervise underlings involved in the probe.
John Scola, Munro Jr.’s lawyer, said that given the result so far in Munro Jr.’s case, the Police Department should look into other cases Dandola has handled. “All of his previous investigations must be independently reviewed,” Scola said.

Munro Jr.’s union for his part, is also calling for a probe into Dandola:
“The union has been in Det. Munro Jr.’s corner fighting for his rights, as we do for every member. It is now time to focus on the unjust actions of the lieutenant, who clearly manipulated an official NYPD internal investigation,” Detectives’ Endowment Association said.
The Lieutenants Benevolent Association, defending Dandola’s handling of the case, said they “are confident that when all the evidence come out, [Dandola], will be exonerated,” because “evidence will show he conducted a fair and balanced investigation.”
Dandola was quietly transferred Feb. 9 from Internal Affairs to the Detective Bureau, while “The discipline process is ongoing at this time,” police sources said.
The Munros accused Dandola’s immediate superior, Capt. Thomas Kamper and Kamper’s superior, Deputy Inspector Edward Armstrong, of obstructing the investigation, but they were never charged.
Capt. Kamper currently is taking unspent leave, while Dep. Inspector Armstrong, recently retired.