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NYC Mayor Eric Adams defends top advisor accused of sexual harassment

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is standing by a top adviser and longtime friend who faces allegations that he sexually harassed female colleagues

Jake Offenhartz
Tuesday 30 July 2024 20:33 EDT
NYC Mayor Advisor Harassment
NYC Mayor Advisor Harassment (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams is standing by a top adviser and longtime friend who faces allegations that he sexually harassed female colleagues and retaliated against those who raised alarm over the alleged misconduct.

Timothy Pearson, a former high-ranking official in the New York Police Department who now advises the mayor on public safety, was named in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by a current deputy police chief, Miltiadis Marmara.

It is the fourth lawsuit in the last year against Pearson, who is currently being investigated by another city agency for his role in a brawl at a shelter for homeless migrants.

At a press briefing Tuesday, Adams described Pearson as a ā€œgood friendā€ and said his role in the administration had not changed as a result of the allegations.

ā€œPeople have a tendency when accusations are made to say, ā€˜You know what, the pressure is hot, you need to just get rid of a person.ā€™ I just donā€™t operate that way,ā€ said Adams, a Democrat. ā€œI believe in due process and let the process take its course.ā€

A lawyer for Pearson did not respond to a request for comment.

In the most recent lawsuit, Marmara said he observed Pearson harassing multiple female employees when the two worked together at an office created under Adams to monitor other city agencies.

During an office party in December 2022, Marmara said he walked into a copy room to find his chief of staff, Sgt. Roxanne Ludemann, grimacing as Pearson rubbed her bare shoulder.

Ludemann, who filed her own lawsuit against Pearson earlier this year, told Marmara that the harassment from Pearson was frequent in the office. Soon after, Marmara said he implemented a policy mandating that a supervisor follow Pearson around the office to ensure he wasnā€™t alone with any female employees.

Around the same time, Marmara said he informed the mayorā€™s brother, Bernard Adams, then a deputy police commissioner, about the incident. But Bernard Adams dismissed the claim, saying it was just ā€œTim being Tim,ā€ according to the complaint.

An emailed message seeking comment from Bernard Adams, sent to his philanthropy project, Angels Helpers NYC, was not immediately returned.

Before Marmara rejoined the police department this past April, he said he witnessed Pearson sexually harassing other women in the office, at times ā€œhowlingā€ at them and staring at them.

He said other officials were concerned by Pearsonā€™s behavior but were afraid to cross a high-ranking advisor widely understood to be among the mayorā€™s closest confidantes.

ā€œPearson was constantly flaunting his relationship with the mayor,ā€ Marmara told The Associated Press. ā€œHeā€™d say ā€˜I destroyed this personā€™s career, I could destroy that personā€™s career.ā€™ Itā€™s a form of psychological grooming to show that he has power that was totally enabled by the mayor.ā€

Pearson has no official role within the police department and technically works for the cityā€™s Economic Development Corporation, a quasi-public agency. But he wields unusual influence over the department, personally approving nearly all discretionary promotions of officers, according to the lawsuit.

Months after the copy room incident, Marmara said he learned Pearson was blocking Luddemanā€™s promotion. When Marmara confronted him about it, he said Pearson asked, ā€œwhat is she going to do for me?ā€ He then suggested that Ludemann work as his personal driver, the lawsuit said.

In the lawsuit, Mamara also said that a female pastor who he was friendly with had once come to him with a complaint that Pearson had sexually abused her in either 2014 or 2015. Mamara said he had viewed a criminal complaint she made to the department.

A spokesperson for the police department did not respond to an inquiry about the complaint.

The cityā€™s Law Department declined to comment.

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