Former interim Police Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon is accusing Mayor Eric Adams and top NYPD officials of running a "criminal enterprise." FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt has the details.

New York

Former interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donilon has filed a 251-page federal lawsuit accusing Mayor Eric Adams and senior NYPD officials of running the department as a 'criminal enterprise.' Donilon, who briefly led the NYPD and is a former FBI official, alleges he uncovered systemic corruption and criminal conduct among the department's leadership, which he claims was ignored by the mayor.

Mayor Adams has dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous and politically motivated, noting that such claims often arise during election seasons. Legal experts have pointed out that the lawsuit's allegations are not corroborated by supporting evidence. This case is one of several recent lawsuits alleging corruption against the mayor and his associates.

Ex-NYPD head accuses Adams of running 'criminal enterprise'

Well, breaking news, the former head of the NYPD filing a scathing lawsuit. Yeah, former interim commissioner Tom Donilon going as far as to say the department under Mayor Adams has been run like a criminal enterprise. Linda Schmidt is live at City Hall with the details of this lawsuit and how the mayor is now responding. Linda. Hi, first of all, good evening to both of you. And Steve, you just said it. These accusations here are scathing. And take a look. This is the federal lawsuit right here, all 251 pages of it. Now, inside this federal lawsuit, a former commissioner with the NYPD is accusing the mayor of running the NYPD is a criminal enterprise. And he is saying the only way to fix it is federal oversight of the NYPD. Go ahead. Take a look at this video here. This is the former commissioner of the NYPD, Thomas Donilon, who is a also former FBI official. And he was appointed as the interim commissioner of the NYPD back in the fall of 2024. Now, at the time he was brought in to stabilize the NYPD, which was under intense scrutiny by federal agents and prosecutors. But then just a few weeks into the job, he stepped down after federal agents searched his home for alleged classified documents unrelated to his position with the NYPD. Now, in his lawsuit announced today, he says that he uncovered systemic corruption and criminal conduct within the NYPD's top brass. And he reported it to the mayor, who he says did nothing. Mayor Adams, though, in the Bronx today, calling the lawsuit frivolous. It's baseless. This is the season where you're going to see a lot of this stuff. People wait until this time of the season. It's a political season, but it's baseless. It's disgruntled. Now, I also spoke with a criminal defense attorney late this afternoon to get his take on this case. Now, again, this is a federal RICO lawsuit, which is accusing the mayor of racketeering and corruption. This is a monstrous allegation. And what I'm reading is that none of it has been corroborated. You don't see anything in reports or attachments that would corroborate it. You know, there's an allegation, for example, that this plaintiff presented his claims to the mayor and the mayor, you know, put a stamp of approval on him. This is testimony. This is, you know, he said, she said. And quite frankly, it's not enough. Now, normally, the announcement of a lawsuit like this would be a major bombshell, but it is just the latest in a list of lawsuits that have now been filed recently against the mayor and his allies, accusing them of corruption and a variety of other accusations. One of those filing a lawsuit that was announced earlier this month is from the former chief of detectives with the NYPD. Back inside to you. All right, Linda, thank you for that update.

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