On August 1, 1974, Scoppetta was accused by New York City Controller Harrison J. Goldin of "instructing" a civil servant in the Controller's office to make entries in the Controller's books that were not there when his auditors looked at them.
On December 6, 1976, Beame named Scoppetta to the newly created post of Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice while still remaining in his post as Commissioner of Investigation.