NYPD Internal Affairs improperly grilled a deputy chief suing senior mayoral advisor Timothy Pearson for retaliation on the content of his lawsuit line by line three days after he filed it, according to a new court filing.
As a police officer, Deputy Chief Miltiadis Marmara is required to sit for official internal interviews – a longstanding NYPD rule used to compel police officers to assist in potential misconduct investigations. Marmara had already been formally interviewed by Internal Affairs in early November about Pearson’s alleged sexual harassment of a female sergeant and retaliation against her.
But right after he filed the lawsuit in NY State Supreme Court July 30, he was ordered to another interview with NYPD Internal Affairs Inspector Michael Ricciardi on Aug. 2, according to an amended complaint filed Monday by his lawyer John Scola.
Ricciardi had said the interview would not be about Pearson or the lawsuit. He said the city Department of Investigation was handling the Pearson allegations, the amended complaint alleges.
Instead, according to the amended complaint, the questions during the 90-minute session were all about the lawsuit’s allegations against Pearson. Ricciardi even had a typed list of questions about information in the complaint.
The amended complaint claims Pearson called Chief of Internal Affairs Miguel Iglesias who then ordered Ricciardi to conduct the new interview. The city, the new complaint says, had no legitimate reason to bring in Marmara again except to “lock (him) into statements on his lawsuit outside the presence of his counsel.”
Marmara’s lawyer John Scola said he will seek sanctions from the court against the city for conducting the “unauthorized deposition.”
“The NYPD routinely manipulates its disciplinary procedures to intimidate and retaliate against officers, employing these tactics in an attempt to gain an unjust advantage in litigation,” Scola said. “We are confident that when the Court scrutinizes their actions, the NYPD will face significant sanctions, bringing a decisive end to these unethical practices.”
The NYPD press office did not answer questions posed by The News. “The NYPD cannot comment on pending litigation,” a spokesperson said in an email.
Neither the mayor’s press office nor John Flannery, a private lawyer being paid by the city to represent Pearson, responded to inquiries from The News.
Marmara’s lawsuit alleges while overseeing a special unit created by Mayor Adams to assess the performance of city agencies, Pearson sexually harassed Sgt. Roxanne Ludemann and then waged a campaign of retaliation using his influence in the NYPD against cops who backed Ludemann.
Marmara, Ludemann, now retired, a second retired sergeant and a lieutenant have filed related lawsuits against Pearson.
Scola said the interview after the suit was filed might have also violated legal ethics.
“In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized to do so by law or a court order,” an American Bar Association rule states.
