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MANHATTAN (CN) — A former interim commissioner for the New York Police Department on Wednesday accused New York City’s Democratic mayor Eric Adams and senior leadership of the nation’s largest police force of running a “criminal enterprise” that retaliates against oversight efforts and sabotages Internal Affairs oversight probes.
In a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) complaint filed Wednesday in Manhattan, former NYPD chief Thomas Donlon accuses department leaders of racketeering, including wire fraud, mail fraud and obstruction of justice for personal and political gain.
“This enterprise—the NYPD—was criminal at its core,” Donlon alleges in his seven-count complaint. “The defendants engaged in a coordinated pattern of racketeering activity that was deliberate, sustained, and directed from the highest levels of the NYPD and City Hall.”
He also alleges senior NYPD officials enriched themselves and associates through unearned raises, padded pensions, promotions and manipulated overtime.
“The defendants leveraged governmental authority and infrastructure to commit crimes, cover up misconduct, and retaliate against internal dissenters,” the erstwhile commissioner wrote in the complaint.
In the complaint, Donlon says he was ousted as interim commissioner in November 2024 in retaliation “for exposing misconduct and refusing to participate in unlawful conduct,” then reassigned as a public safety advisor to Mayor Adams, which was cut six months later.
He also claims top NYPD officials arranged his wife’s false arrest in a “coordinated humiliation” and leaked it to the New York Post to punish him for demanding accountability.
“This was not a mistake,” Donlon said of his wife’s arrest for allegedly driving on a suspended license. “It was a deliberate abuse of power designed to punish and intimidate Donlon for exposing their misconduct.”
City Hall Press Secretary Kayla Mamelak Altus quickly dismissed Donlon’s claims on Wednesday, “baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who — when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world — proved himself to be ineffective.
“This suit is nothing more than an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer’s expense after Mr. Donlon was rightfully removed from the role of interim police commissioner,” the City Hall spokeswoman said. “We will respond in court, where we are confident these absurd claims will be disproven.”
Donlon, formerly FBI National Threat Center chief and New York Homeland Security head, became interim NYPD commissioner in September 2024 after former commissioner Edward Caban resigned following federal raids related to FBI probes into Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
In addition to Mayor Adams, the 251-page complaint names as co-defendants: Chief of Department John Chell, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, Former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, Former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Michael Gerber.
The same month Donlon was sworn in as interim police commissioner, Adams was indicted on a five-count bribery and corruption case. However, the Trump administration’s Justice Department later dismissed the case, sparking the resignations of prosecutors and raising suspicions of a quid pro quo tied to federal deportation cooperation.
The NYPD’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year is expected to exceed $6 billion.
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