On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed a former police commissioner’s whistleblower lawsuit alleging that former Mayor Eric Adams and other top officials ran the New York Police Department like an organized crime outfit.
Thomas Donlon, who had a two-month stint atop the NYPD during the Adams administration, is appealing U.S. District Judge Denise Cote’s ruling. John Scola, Donlon’s attorney, said Donlon has “experienced serious retaliation and reputational harm after he refused to participate in misconduct at the highest levels of city government.”
Donlon served as the NYPD’s head after Edward Caban resigned from the role amid a federal investigation.
In Donlon’s brief tenure, he alleges, he pulled back the curtain on a coordinated scheme by top Adams officials and NYPD brass to block investigations into police misconduct, obstruct internal oversight, promote unqualified officers and misuse his signature to authorize actions he disagreed with. Donlon says he was fired and retaliated against when he attempted to raise concerns — with officers allegedly arresting his wife at a traffic stop for lacking insurance after refusing to look at proof of insurance on her cellphone to get back at him, he claims.
“The ruling, if left standing, would signal that senior public officials can be publicly discredited and forced out for refusing improper directives, without meaningful judicial scrutiny,” Scola said. “We are asking the appellate court to reinstate the case so the evidence can be tested through discovery.”
In her dismissal ruling, Cote said Donlon’s suit, which charged top NYPD brass and Adams under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, failed to show the group all acted together with a “common purpose to violate the law,” a requirement of the conspiracy charge.
“The [suit] repeatedly alleges that the individual defendants had different motivations that shaped their interactions with Donlon and drove their alleged misconduct, rather than a single desire to further their criminal enterprise or otherwise commit a crime,” Cote said.
The judge said Donlon’s case didn’t convince her Adams and the officials he filed suit against were united in a goal to break the law, work together to corrupt the department or tarnish his reputation.
A representative for the city’s Law Department said city lawyers are“pleased the court agreed there was no legal basis for this case to continue.”
The earliest a decision may come on Donlon’s appeal would be late this year.
Donlon has also filed a defamation suit against Adams earlier this year, alleging Adams and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard intentionally tarnished Donlon’s character in retaliation for filing suit.
That suit, which Scola also represents Donlon in, is still pending in Manhattan Supreme Court.
