NYPD Chief blockbuster lawsuit includes claims of sexual misconduct by Adams adviser Tim Pearson

A top NYPD commander and former leader of a special mayoral unit filed a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing senior mayoral adviser Timothy Pearson not only of retaliating against him and several subordinates over sexual harassment claims, but also of a string of sexual misconduct allegations spanning two decades.

Deputy Chief Miltiadis Marmara’s 91-page lawsuit bolsters allegations against Pearson in lawsuits filed earlier in 2024 by three former members of the Municipal Services Assessment unit. They claimed, in a period spanning 2022 and 2023, that Pearson sexually harassed Marmara’s chief of staff, Sgt. Roxanne Ludemann and blocked her promotion. He then allegedly used his power in the NYPD and City Hall to dead-end her career and two police colleagues who backed her.

Marmara, now the No. 2 in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, reveals in his N.Y. Supreme Court lawsuit that despite claims to the contrary from the Adams administration, NYPD brass and top administration officials were aware of Ludemann’s allegations and Pearson’s alleged retaliation because Marmara documented it.

The lawsuit also includes allegations that go beyond the conflict inside the MSA. It alleges Pearson was once the subject of a criminal complaint for sexual abuse filed by a female Queens pastor. It also claims without offering a source that he was fired from his job as security director at the Resorts World Casino in Queens for “sexual improprieties.”

But it remains unclear whether City Hall or the NYPD has ever interviewed Pearson about the allegations against him, the lawsuit claims.

Marmara, meanwhile, is portrayed in the suit as a by-the-book commander forced to contend with a ruthless superior who used his power in the NYPD and at City Hall to cripple the careers of his accusers.

“I love police work, having a positive impact. It’s an honorable profession. Honor and integrity are very important to me,” Marmara told the Daily News. “I was trying to protect the mayor from an unprofessional person like Pearson and all my people get destroyed.”

The suit discloses that the chief also kept the mayor’s brother, Bernard Adams, apprised of Pearson’s alleged conduct before and after Bernard stepped down as director of the mayor’s security in February 2023.

“Senior officials in both the Mayor’s office and the NYPD were aware of Tim Pearson’s sexual misconduct but chose to ignore it to avoid displeasing Mayor Adams,” said Marmara’s lawyer John Scola. “This alarming lack of leadership and systemic failure has jeopardized the safety of all female employees in the city. It has also enabled Pearson to misuse the NYPD as his personal tool of retaliation.”

Allegations denied

Amaris Cockfield, a spokeswoman for Adams, did not reply to a list of questions from The News but said the lawsuit will be reviewed.

“Our administration holds employees to the highest ethical standards and we take these allegations seriously,” she said.

John Flannery, a private lawyer hired by the city to represent Pearson, said his client denies all of the “substantive allegations” in the now four MSA lawsuits.

Flannery also represent the three other defendants named in the suits – Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, Chief of Patrol John Chell and Internal Affairs Inspector Joseph Profeta.

“Facts matter and the facts will show that this individual 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,” Flannery said.

“Prior to his removal, neither Deputy Chief Marmara nor the other plaintiffs had ever reported any alleged misconduct by Mr. Pearson to the city or internally to the NYPD as alleged in the complaints,” he said.

“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.”

Conflict inside MSA

The chronology relayed in the lawsuit, however, indicates Marmara was notifying various police and city officials along the way.

Marmara, 55, joined the NYPD in 1992. Over his 32-year career, he rose to commander and led three precincts and a series of borough and special units, earning glowing evaluations and numerous commendations, the suit said. In June 2022, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks hired Marmara as head of MSA, a unit tasked to evaluate the performance of city agencies.

The hiring was due in part to Marmara’s long friendship with Bernard Adams, who was with Banks at the March 2022 job interview for the post, the suit states. The unit worked out of a 16th-floor office at 375 Pearl St. right behind police headquarters.

Pearson and Banks, the suit claims, wielded powers long held by the police commissioner. The suit says, for example, Banks controls promotions and assignments for captains and above, while Pearson approved assignments for lieutenants and sergeants.

Every member of the unit had to sign a nondisclosure agreement which barred them from speaking about its work. Every document was to be stamped with the word “Draft” to evade public disclosure laws, according to Marmara’s complaint.

As the month progressed, Ludemann was allegedly fending off advances from Pearson. On Dec. 1, 2022, Marmara saw Pearson rubbing Ludemann’s arm during an office party. He notified Bernard Adams one day later saying it was a “bad look for the mayor,” and ordered his staff to make sure Pearson was never alone with women in the office, the lawsuit says.

Marmara alleges Bernard Adams told him he had also informed Banks, the suit claims. Bernard told Marmara that Banks didn’t want to anger the mayor by providing negative information about Pearson, the lawsuit claims.

Marmara also reached out to Sideya Sherman, the city’s chief equity officer, and Wendy Garcia, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for equity and inclusion, the lawsuit says.

Prior claims

Marmara, the lawsuit claims, had been aware of allegations of sexual improprieties against Pearson for at least a decade.

The most incendiary allegation in the suit involves the female Queens pastor, whose name is being withheld by The News. According to the suit, the pastor told Marmara in 2014 that Pearson — who had retired from the NYPD by then and was vice president for security at Resorts World Casino in Queens at the time — was “overly aggressive and forceful” with her during a sexual encounter, leading her to file a criminal complaint with police.

Marmara, then head of Queens South Investigations, claims she told him that Pearson manipulated her into bed by claiming he was trying to “get closer to God.” Marmara checked his NYPD computer and confirmed she had filed the sexual abuse complaint two days earlier, the lawsuit says.

His search also showed Pearson had the pastor arrested for allegedly slashing his tires, the lawsuit claims. The pastor denied slashing Pearson’s tires and asked for a copy of her sex assault complaint, which Marmara emailed her.

Pearson then became aware that Marmara knew of the incident and told him she was “crazy, abused as a child and has daddy issues,” the lawsuit alleges.

The outcome of the pastor’s sexual assault claim and Pearson’s counter-claim are unclear, the lawsuit says.

The pastor, who is not identified by name in the lawsuit, did not return messages from The News.

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The lawsuit also claims a factor in Pearson’s June 2011 retirement from the NYPD was that he had no chance at promotion to chief because then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had “shelved” his career over past sexual misconduct allegations. Kelly did not reply to a text message from The News.

Retired NYPD Chief Wilbur Chapman was a member of the 2011 promotional board. He recalled that Pearson did not perform well in the interview but does not remember any sexual misconduct allegations being raised. The panel recommended against Pearson’s promotion and Kelly agreed, Chapman said.

Harassment claims

Pearson was then hired at Resorts World. In August 2022, the New York Times reported Pearson was earning salaries from both the city and the casino, a potential conflict of interest. Days later, Pearson gave up the casino job and was eventually put in charge of MSA.

Marmara’s lawsuit claims Pearson was actually pushed out of the casino job because of a string of sexual harassment claims filed against him.

The lawsuit contains no further detail or identifies Marmara’s source. A Resorts World spokesperson did not reply to an email from The News.

The lawsuit also cites the account of a retired female sergeant who claims Pearson repeatedly came on to her in the late 1990s at police headquarters. She filed a harassment complaint against him but nothing came of it, the suit claims.

The suit also claims Marmara witnessed Pearson make lewd statements or behaving offensively on several occasions, including referring to Asst. Chief Judith Harrison as a “d—e b—h,”  “howling like a dog” at women as the chief drove him to Gracie Mansion, and refusing to meet with Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack because Niblack is gay.

All of these incidents, the lawsuit claims, made Marmara increasingly concerned about Pearson’s fitness.

The conflict between Marmara and Pearson came to a head in March 2023, after Ludemann had been passed over for promotion four times, angering Marmara. He complained repeatedly to Banks and Bernard Adams.

On April 12, 2023, following a blow-up with Pearson, Marmara was transferred to Brooklyn North. The three cops who have also sued — Ludemann, retired Sgt. Michael Ferrari, and Lt. George Huang — were all shunted to lesser uniform posts.

Since then, Marmara alleges he has been targeted for retaliation by Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and Chief of Patrol John Chell at Pearson’s behest.

On April 13, Marmara was ordered to be “randomly” drug tested and called by the head of the office that provides emotional counseling to cops — both events he paints as retaliatory. He was also called by Oleg Chernyavsky, the police commissioner’s chief of staff. Marmara called IAB Chief Miguel Iglesias and informed him.

From the end of April into 2024, Maddrey and Chell began accusing him of minor rules breaches, the lawsuit says.

In November 2023, Marmara was ordered for questioning by Internal Affairs. He texted Investigations Commissioner Jocelyn Stauber to notify her of Pearson’s retaliation. His IAB interviewer was Inspector Joseph Profeta, The lawsuit claims Profeta got angry when Marmara attempted to detail Pearson’s behavior.

After a May 26 police-involved shooting in Brooklyn. Marmara was off duty. But Chell was angry he was not present and complained about borough staffing. Chell then changed Marmara’s day tour to nights, the lawsuit says.

Marmara finally filed a retaliation complaint against Maddrey, Chell and Pearson. He texted Police Commissioner Edward Caban, but Caban didn’t respond.

On June 28, Marmara was approached by a lieutenant who claimed Pearson was sexually harassing a female detective, saying she owed Pearson sex for getting her promoted. Marmara reported that as well.

Just 14 days ago, on July 16, Marmara was at a staff meeting chaired by Maddrey. Chell, the lawsuit claims, has evidently learned of the complaint.

“I don’t give a crap about anyone here who filed a complaint against me,” Chell declared, the suit says. This job is my last spot. If you don’t like it you should retire.”

Two hours later, Marmara reported that apparent threat.