Shortly after Eric Adams became mayor of New York, he quickly rewarded a group of loyalists with prominent positions in his administration. Now, Mr. Adams favors a new group of people who look out for his interests: defense attorneys.
A successful team from the WilmerHale law firm is representing the mayor in an investigation by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York into potential ties between his campaign and the Turkish government. The company has already received more than $730,000 from the five-month-old mayor. legal defense fund.
Mr. Adams intends to bring in Randy Mastro, a lawyer known for his aggressive tactics and his list of litigious clients and causes, to represent him as the city’s corporation lawyer. Mr. Mastro would earn about $250,000 a year and replace Sylvia Hinds-Radix, a former judge with a more reserved style.
Another lawyer known for his high-profile clients and high fees was hired by the city to represent Mr. Adams in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulted a woman in 1993 when he was a police officer. Attorney Alex Spiro Represented Elon Musk; Jay Z; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; and Alec Baldwin.
If Mr. Mastro is appointed and confirmed by the municipal council, he should work with Mr. Spiro on the case. Mr. Adams, a Democrat running for re-election next year, has repeatedly denied the sexual assault allegations.
In the sexual assault case, the mayor and his legal team said he was entitled to legal representation from the city because he was a police officer at the time the alleged incident took place. The mayor’s office, however, could not provide any examples of other retired police officers being represented by the city’s top lawyer in an assault case.
The mayor and his legal team, however, maintain that the city’s hiring of Mr. Spiro is one of several examples in which the legal department is bringing in outside counsel so that the city’s lawyers can focus on other matters. other issues, including cases related to the migrant crisis and the troubled Rikers jail. complex.
The wave of legal hiring is not unprecedented for New York elected officials. Mayor Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, was the subject of a federal investigation into his fundraising that cost city more than 10 million dollars for taxpayer-funded defense attorneys.
Former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who was the subject of multiple sexual harassment investigations and resigned in 2021, cost taxpayers dearly at least $20 million in legal fees for him and the members of his management team, according to a analysis in The Times Union of Albany.
No one is questioning the mayor’s right to defend himself, but the questions before voters are whether taxpayers should pay for his defense and whether all the investigations will distract Mr. Adams from his focus on the many pressing challenges of the city, said Basil Smikle, director of the Public Policy Program at Hunter College.
“If you need that much firepower, how problematic are these cases and how much is it going to distract you from governance? he said.
Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Mr. Adams “remains focused on serving the citizens of New York” and would “continue to defer to the company’s attorneys and the Legal Department with any questions.” legal “.
Several of the mayor’s lawyers worked in the Southern District of New York, where Mr. Adams faces the most serious investigation: the federal investigation into his campaign’s ties to the Turkish government. In this investigation, the mayor is represented by a team from WilmerHale that includes Brendan R. McGuire, a partner in the firm’s white-collar defense practice, and another associate, Boyd M. Johnson III.
The mayor’s lead lawyer, Lisa Zornberg, is a former senior federal prosecutor in Manhattan — a point she made clear at a news conference in November, when questions were raised about the mayor’s investigation. southern district.
“I’m going to intervene here,” she intercedes. “Many of you know that in addition to being the lead attorney for the Mayor and City Hall, I was formerly Chief of the Criminal Division.”
At a news conference last week, Ms. Zornberg praised Mr. Mastro, comparing him to Founding Father John Adams. In November, she told reporters that the sexual assault lawsuit was filed by a “person who, according to public records and in her own words, is so litigious that she wrote a book on how to file lawsuits.” prosecutions.”
Mr. Spiro’s company agreed to charge the city a deeply discounted rate of about $250 an hour. His aggressive tactics drew attention in his representation of Mr. Musk in a Texas trial, where his behavior was criticized as “surprisingly unprofessional” by opposition lawyers who asked a judge to impose sanctions against him. Opposing counsel stated that he interrupted and “reprimanded him”. Mr Spiro accused him of wanting his “15 minutes of fame”.
Mr. Mastro and Mr Spiro are both known for their brash style. Mr. Mastro attempted to stop New York City’s congestion pricing plan on behalf of New Jersey and sought to obtain homeless men evicted from a hotel in Manhattan. Mr. Spiro helped Mr. Musk win a defamation case about a cave rescue effort in Thailand.
Mr. Adams’ push to hire Mr. Mastro, a former deputy mayor under Rudolph W. Giuliani, faces opposition from Adrienne Adams, the City Council president, and the council’s Black, Latino and Asian caucus.
The sexual assault lawsuit was filed against Mr. Adams under the Adult Survivors Act, which gives people a one-year window to file lawsuits over sexual assaults that occurred years ago. One woman claimed that Mr. Adams demanded oral sex from her in exchange for professional help while they worked together at the New York City Transit Police Department. When she refused, he forced her to touch his penis and ejaculate on her, the complaint states.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Megan Goddard, an employment discrimination attorney who represents the woman, said her client had the courage to come forward and that her firm was comfortable handling the “David and Goliath” cases.
“The truth is the truth, no matter who your lawyer is or how many lawyers you hire,” she said in a statement.
The city will also pay legal fees incurred by one of the mayor’s closest aides, Timothy Pearson, who was accused in sexual harassment lawsuit against police sergeant. Mr. Pearson is also under investigation following a scuffle with security guards at a Manhattan migrant shelter.
The mayor’s hires demonstrate a combative legal strategy that could be similar to that of former President Trump and Mr. Cuomo, said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School and a former Manhattan prosecutor.
“Conceding nothing and really fighting hard is a way some lawyers approach certain cases – sometimes it’s very successful and sometimes it blows up in your face,” she said.
Some experts have expressed concerns that the company’s lawyer is representing Mr. Adams in the lawsuit. But John Kaehny, executive director of the watchdog group Reinvent Albany and a frequent critic of Mr. Adams, argued that it was appropriate for the mayor to receive legal representation from the city, even if it seemed unfair for taxpayers to pay the note.
“There is only one mayor, which makes the person who occupies this position different from the others,” he said. “They have some protection because they are exposed – we have real concerns about the politicization of prosecutions of elected officials. »
The mayor’s legal defense fund has raised more than $1 million from donors, including Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor, and Elie Tahari, the fashion designer, who each gave $5,000. THE the fund has already returned $86,000 in donationsincluding some from people who do business with the city and who are prohibited from making a donation.
Jeff Sklar, an adviser to business leaders, said he gave the fund $5,000 in March after attending a three-hour dinner with Mr. Adams at a restaurant at 432 Park Avenue, in one new skyscrapers overlooking Central Park. A hedge fund manager, Barry Feirstein, introduced them, he said, and Mr. Sklar took a photo with Mr. Adams that he published on LinkedIn.
Mr. Sklar said he supports the mayor’s public safety policies and his support of the business community.
“Under De Blasio, we were virtually ignored,” he said.
