Overview

• Thomas Donlon filed a 251-page racketeering lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, accusing Mayor Eric Adams and senior NYPD officials of wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and honest-services fraud under RICO.
• The complaint alleges that top brass forged Donlon’s commissioner stamp to advance politically connected officers, resulting in unearned raises, inflated pensions and unchecked overtime payments.
• Donlon claims NYPD leaders spied on his communications, obstructed internal misconduct probes and orchestrated the false arrest of his wife in what he calls a “coordinated humiliation.”
• The suit follows four whistleblower actions by former NYPD chiefs and a broader federal inquiry that prompted high-level device seizures, the resignation of two police commissioners and the dismissal of corruption charges against Adams in 2024.
• City officials have branded the allegations baseless and say they will vigorously contest the case as it moves through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.