Why sgt. curbed case
Ex-cop opted not to pursue sex harass rap vs. Adams aide
The retired NYPD sergeant accusing mayoral adviser Timothy Pearson of sexual harassment and retaliation says she spoke three times with a City Hall investigator but ultimately decided not to pursue her complaint in that setting because of a concern about the influence Pearson wielded in the administration.
In response to an inquiry from the Daily News, Adams administration spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said Wednesday the mayor’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity “conducted outreach” multiple times to Roxanne Ludemann but she “chose not to cooperate” and none of her claims could be substantiated.
Ludemann and her lawyer John Scola said she spoke three times with Tanesha Honeygan, manager of the mayor’s Equal Employment Opportunity unit, in early October.
An email from Honeygan to Ludemann dated Oct. 13 obtained by The News actually thanks Ludemann for speaking with her.
That was after she had already been formally interviewed for two hours on Aug. 16 by Internal Affairs Inspector Joseph Profeta, in which she detailed her allegations, according to her lawsuit.
Ludemann decided not to go forward with a complaint with the mayor’s EEO office because, she says, she did not trust the process given the apparent power that Pearson wields in the administration.
“During those conversations, I told her I was concerned about a fair investigation and she was very empathetic,” Ludemann said.
Scola said the administration’s response is immaterial because Ludemann had already cooperated with Internal Affairs.
“Once they had knowledge of the misconduct, they still had the obligation to investigate it to protect the other women in the office,” Scola said.
The sequence illustrates that Ludemann raised her complaints multiple times both with her direct superiors and with various investigative agencies throughout 2023.
Mamelak on Thursday declined to answer further questions. “We will review the lawsuit and respond in court,” she said.
The NYPD also declined to answer specific questions about the Internal Affairs investigation, citing the lawsuit.
Honeygan did not reply to an email from The News.
Ludemann’s lawsuit, the filing of which The News first reported Thursday, alleges that while she was in the mayor’s
Municipal Services Assessment office, Pearson, who was overseeing the unit, caressed her arms and shoulder up to 20 times, asked her personal questions and cornered her for impromptu chats.
When she denied his advances, he blocked her promotion to the higher paying post of sergeant special assignment, the lawsuit alleges. Pearson then involved NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and Internal Affairs, the lawsuit alleges.
Ludemann was bounced to four different commands and placed under investigation. Fed up, she retired in December.
The lawsuit also details an alleged blow-up between Ludemann’s boss, NYPD Deputy Chief Miltiadis Marmara, and Pearson over Pearson’s conduct and the blocking of her promotion.
The News has since learned that Marmara was interviewed by Internal Affairs on Nov. 14 and gave detailed testimony for more than three hours, according to his lawyer Lou La Pietra.
La Pietra declined to comment on the nature of the testimony.
Lt. George Huang, a supervisor in the unit, was interviewed three times by Internal Affairs in connection with the Ludemann case, said Ludemann and two sources familiar with the investigation.
Huang declined to comment to The News.
In her lawsuit, Ludemann claims after she detailed the alleged harassment, Internal Affair investigator Profeta asked her overtly sexual questions, including whether Pearson touched her breast over or under her shirt.
Profeta ended up referring her case to the mayor’s EEO office.
It is unclear what happened with the Internal Affairs investigation as the NYPD has declined to answer questions about it.
The city was made aware of Ludemann’s concerns at least two other times, according to her lawsuit.
In September 2023, Ludemann mentioned her allegations to a lawyer representing the city in a lawsuit over the rights of officers to breastfeed their infants on the job, her lawsuit claims.
She told the city lawyer she was being sexually harassed and might have no choice but to resign, the lawsuit said.
Nicholas Paolucci, a city Law Department spokesman, declined comment.
Separately, after Ludemann complained Sept. 7 about not receiving overtime as male officers did, NYPD Deputy Chief John Clune of Queens South filed a internal discrimination complaint on her behalf, the lawsuit claims.