Married NYPD cops from East Meadow fired for refusing to answer questions about blaze at their home

A decorated NYPD lieutenant from East Meadow and his wife, a city police officer, have been fired by Commissioner Jessica Tisch for refusing to answer questions about a September fire that heavily damaged their home after the couple had argued, records show.

Javier Rodriguez, 43, a 20-year veteran of the department, was officially dismissed by Tisch on Oct. 31 after he was found guilty of administrative charges alleging he willfully refused to answer questions from department investigators and refused a direct order to do so, according to NYPD disciplinary records. Tisch’s order dismissing Rodriguez was made public earlier this month.

In a decision dated Oct. 17, Tisch also dismissed his wife, Tanya Rodriguez, an NYPD patrol officer since 2006, after a department judge found her guilty of similar charges and recommended her termination, NYPD disciplinary records show.

Javier Rodriguez initially appeared with an attorney, James Moschella, at a department hearing with Internal Affairs Bureau investigators but refused a number of times to answer questions, according to NYPD records. Rodriguez didn’t appear for his October department trial. He was tried in absentia and found guilty of the charges by a department trial judge who recommended to Tisch that he be fired.

The firings of the couple came after the Sept. 19 fire heavily damaged their home on Maitland Street in East Meadow. Internal Affairs began investigating the fire when Tanya Rodriguez reported her husband missing afterward. According to department records, Javier Rodriguez was quickly located on an Amtrak train in Baltimore by NYPD officers and driven back to New York.

It was initially believed by Nassau County authorities that the house fire might have been electrical in nature. But according to the decision recommending the firing of Javier Rodriguez, "it was subsequently learned that [Rodriguez] and his wife had a verbal dispute prior to the fire." The decision didn't mention the nature of the dispute or whether it was connected to the blaze.

In September, Newsday reported that Nassau County fire marshals said in a statement that "as an active investigation we have not ruled out a suspicious cause of the fire." A spokesperson for the fire marshal office didn’t respond to a request for additional comment Monday.

As of Monday, Nassau police had not announced any charges in connection with the fire.

NYPD records stated that an Internal Affairs investigator noted during department trial proceedings that Javier Rodriguez was "suspected of possibly setting the fire" and that his wife was deemed a witness.

Tanya Rodriguez, 45, was interviewed by department investigators on Sept. 26 in the presence of an attorney who wasn’t identified in NYPD records. After she answered certain questions, Rodriguez appeared to give inconsistent responses about the reason why she returned to her home and discovered the fire, according to disciplinary proceedings. She then declined to answer further questions, also was tried in absentia, and found guilty of failing to answer questions, according to the records.

Neither Javier Rodriguez nor his wife could be reached for comment Monday. Moschella didn’t return a telephone message seeking comment.

Until events surrounding the fire, Javier Rodriguez, who had worked in an NYPD gang violence command, had a spotless disciplinary record. He had received numerous awards for meritorious police service including a 2009 medal for valor, one of the highest medals in the department issued in cases of personal bravery.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.