Mayor and Police Chiefs Let Corruption Fester at N.Y.P.D., Suits Charge

Four former high-ranking police officers are suing Mayor Eric Adams of New York, accusing him of enabling corruption in the Police Department, an agency where they said anyone who spoke out faced retaliation and humiliation.

The separate lawsuits filed on Monday in New York Supreme Court come as Mr. Adams, a former police captain, is running for re-election and using falling crime numbers to bolster his campaign. But the allegations from the former officers, who each spent decades in the department and helped lead bureaus like Internal Affairs and Professional Standards, could revive accusations that he presided over a law enforcement agency where chaos and cronyism reigned.

One of the former officers, James Essig, who served more than 40 years, was chief of detectives until August 2023. He said in the suit that Edward Caban, the commissioner at the time, had forced him to resign after he objected to the promotions of unqualified officers to elite detective roles and specialized units.

Mr. Essig’s lawsuit, which names Mr. Caban, Mr. Adams and Jeffrey Maddrey, the former chief of department, accused Mr. Caban of selling promotions in exchange for $15,000.

Instead of relying on a list of candidates recommended by supervisors, Mr. Caban and Mr. Maddrey often picked “friends and cronies” of theirs and Mr. Adams, according to the suit.

In an interview, Mr. Essig, 63, said he wanted “accountability” for former leaders whose decisions “killed morale” and hurt the careers of dozens of police officers who were forced out or left the department because they were troubled about its direction.