NYC School Investigation Office Accused of Storing and Distributing 5,700 Live Rounds
A lawsuit claims the city’s Special Commissioner of Investigation hoarded nearly 6,000 live rounds without a permit, handed them to investigators, and retaliated against whistleblowers.
In a Manhattan Supreme Court Article 78 suit, former SCI tech investigator Roberto El Lakkis and computer systems manager Richard Marin allege that the Special Commissioner of Investigation, led by Anastasia Coleman, illegally stored more than 5,700 live rounds of.9mm and.38 caliber ammo in an unlocked wooden cabinet at its Financial District headquarters, lacking the required fire-code permit for over 200 rounds. After El Lakkis reported the hazard in April 2023, the agency purportedly concealed the stash, with gun custodian Joseph Piwowarski distributing the ammunition in brown-folder boxes to nine investigators, as shown in emails and video evidence.
The plaintiffs contend they faced retaliation—El Lakkis was fired and Marin was suspended—for exposing the violation. Additional witnesses, including former fleet manager Ralph Gerard, claim similar reprisals for unrelated misconduct. The city Law Department cleared SCI in its own investigation, but the suit argues the process was compromised. SCI has declined comment on the pending litigation.
Why it matters
It reveals possible illegal weapons storage and retaliation within a city agency tasked with overseeing public schools.
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