Voicing support for Tim Pearson in the wake of multiple lawsuits and nominating an aggressive litigator as the city’s top lawyer, the mayor braces for tough legal battles ahead.
By Yoav Gonen
- This story was originally published by THE CITY. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning.
- The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Mayor Eric Adams steeled himself Tuesday against a new lawsuit against a top adviser that has fueled ongoing scrutiny of his inner circle.
At a combative press conference, the mayor defended Senior Advisor Timothy Pearson, who has been hit with a fourth lawsuit alleging either sexual harassment or retaliation. The same day, Adams nominated a controversial litigator as the city’s chief lawyer.
If approved by the City Council, that lawyer, Randy Mastro, would play a key role in navigating a number of thorny legal issues for the administration — including the growing number of legal complaints against Pearson, who is a long-time friend of the mayor’s.
The new lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court by NYPD Deputy Chief Miltiadis Marmama, echoes claims in three previous suits filed by staffers who had worked under Pearson in a special unit Adams set up to help manage city operations. All allege that Pearson repeatedly sexually harassed a female subordinate and retaliated against her and the colleagues who backed her up.
Marmara’s suit also alleges that Pearson was the subject of sexual harassment complaints during his years in the NYPD, long before Adams tapped him for a top spot in the administration in May 2022.
Pressed by reporters Tuesday in sometimes testy exchanges, Adams said Pearson’s role hasn’t changed since NYPD Sgt. Roxanne Ludemann filed her initial complaint against Pearson, top members of the NYPD and the city in March.
“People have a tendency to, when accusations are made, to say, ‘You know what? The pressure’s hot, you need to just get rid of a person.’ I just don’t operate that way,” said Mayor Adams.
“What I’ve learned in life is that a good friend walks in the room when others walk out,” Adams added of Pearson, a 31-year NYPD member who retired in 2012 with the rank of inspector. “Those in law enforcement, particularly officers of color, would tell you he has walked in the room at some difficult times.”
In her lawsuit, filed in March, Ludemann alleges she was denied promotions as retaliation for not succumbing to Pearson’s advances. (Pearson and the other named defendants in that suit have filed papers denying the claims.) In his new lawsuit, Marmara alleges he was retaliated against after Pearson learned that Marmara had discussed the harassment with top NYPD officials, including the mayor’s brother Bernard Adams.
Marmara said in his court filing that he walked into an office on Dec. 1, 2022, and saw Ludemann “grimacing” with Pearson’s hand on her bare shoulder. After that, he alleges, she opened up to Marmara about the prior harassment but convinced him not to file a formal complaint at the time over concern for her career.
The new court papers allege at least two sexual harassment complaints were filed against Pearson while he served in the NYPD in the late 1990s, and that Pearson was terminated as head of security at Resorts World Casino in Queens in 2022 over “numerous sexual improprieties.”
As is protocol, the city conducted a background check of Pearson through its Department of Investigation, but according to an agency spokesperson the review wasn’t completed until Feb. 20, 2024 — nearly two years after Pearson was hired and roughly 11 months after he submitted the required paperwork.
Asked whether the NYPD has records of sexual harassment complaints filed against Pearson during his 31-year tenure, an unnamed NYPD spokesperson declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
The press office at Resorts World Casino didn’t respond to an email about the lawsuit and Pearson, who earns $257,374 per year in salary on the payroll of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, didn’t respond to a voicemail from THE CITY seeking comment.
In response to repeated questions from a reporter at the Daily News Tuesday about when Adams first learned about the complaints filed against Pearson, the mayor asked whether there was any security in the room.
When the reporter said he was just doing his job, Adams said he would let security personnel do their job “if you keep interrupting.”
Paying Outside Lawyers
After the press conference, Adams announced his nomination of controversial attorney Mastro as the head of the city’s law department.
The corporation counsel’s appointment requires approval by the City Council — where a number of members voiced strong opposition after Mastro’s name first leaked several months back.
In a statement, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams urged the Council to reject the nomination based on Mastro’s record — which has included aggressive tactics on behalf of clients opposing a homeless shelter on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2021.
If approved, Mastro would replace former Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix, who reportedly left in June after a number of differences with the administration — including over whether Pearson was eligible for legal representation by the law department.
The city is currently paying the private firm Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman and Dicker LLP to defend Pearson, the city, the Economic Development Corporation and others, including NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, against the lawsuits.
A law department spokesperson said that arrangement was approved while Hinds-Radix was still at the helm and after it was determined that Pearson “was entitled to representation, and that it was appropriate for outside counsel to handle the matters.”
An attorney for Wilson Elser, John Flannery, said the defendants plan to “vigorously defend themselves in this suit.”
Marmara’s lawsuit details numerous times that he claims to have shared Ludemann’s complaints about Pearson with higher-ups in the administration — including as early as December 2022 with Bernard Adams, who oversaw Adams’ security until stepping down several months later.
Flannery countered that none of the allegations against Pearson were formally reported to the NYPD or the administration.
“Deputy Chief Marmara and the other plaintiffs only reported alleged misconduct after they were the subjects of an NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigation into their own misconduct,” said Flannery. “Facts matter, and the facts will show that Deputy Chief Marmara was removed from his position as a result of his own misconduct, including threatening Mr. Pearson over the speed in which NYPD officers at MSA were being promoted.”
John Scola, an attorney for Marmara — who headed the special mayoral unit — and the three other plaintiffs, said the city’s unwillingness to sideline Pearson shows a lack of commitment to addressing sexual harassment.
“Senior officials in the Mayor’s office and NYPD knew of Pearson’s actions but ignored them to avoid displeasing Mayor Adams,” he said. “As a result, four careers have been ruined, and Pearson remains in a position to harass female City employees.”
Pearson is also the target of a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation over allegations that he assaulted security guards at a city-run homeless shelter last year when they balked at letting him inside after he refused to show identification.
A DOI spokesperson said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.
While some members of Adams’ inner circle fend off civil lawsuits, others have been under scrutiny from federal law enforcement, including senior adviser Winnie Greco and campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs. Last fall, the FBI seized the mayor’s electronic devices as part of an unspecified investigation. Adams is not known to be the target of any probe and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
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