Mulvey, Krumpter subpoenaed in lab probe

Recently retired Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and acting Commissioner Thomas Krumpter have been subpoenaed by the state inspector general's office to tell what they know about mismanagement at the police crime lab, sources with knowledge of the investigation said Tuesday.

Mulvey, who retired April 1, is expected to report to Inspector General Ellen Biben's offices in Manhattan in the coming days for closed interviews, the sources said. The timing of Krumpter's interview was not known Tuesday.

Mulvey has said that he knew nothing about problems at the now-shuttered crime laboratory when he took office in July 2007, even though the lab had been put on probation the year before by a national arbitrary accrediting organization. In fact, Mulvey told county legislators that he didn't know anything about lab problems until Dec. 6, 2010, when he was told that the lab had been put on probation for a second time.

The subpoenas are part of what sources say is an aggressive and wide-reaching investigation by Biben. More than 40 people, including former County Executive Thomas Suozzi and current County Executive Edward Mangano, have been interviewed since she launched her probe in February, sources have said.

Police Spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said Tuesday that he is prohibited from discussing subpoenas and could not confirm that they had been issued to Mulvey or Krumpter. Smith contacted Mulvey on Newsday's behalf, but the call was not returned.

In an interview upon retirement last month, Mulvey told Newsday, "I can tell you with absolute certainty -- and I'd be happy to take a polygraph -- that I had no knowledge of the prior issues with the lab."

If an investigation shows Mulvey, Krumpter or other police knew evidence was mishandled and did nothing, hundreds of cases could be challenged, and those who hid the information could be prosecuted, lawyers and experts have said.

The crime lab was put on probation in December by a national lab accreditation agency that cited 26 violations. Rice and Mangano closed the lab about two months later, following the revelations about police managers possibly failing to disclose the inaccurate testing.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation would not say whether District Attorney Kathleen Rice had been subpoenaed or interviewed in the lab probe. Rice's office is prohibited from commenting on the matter.