“The hurricane destroyed my records!”
This claim surfaced when city lawyers suggested that Hurricane Sandy had obliterated the personnel records related to Adam, a former NYPD employee, who is suing Mayor Eric Adams for sexual assault, dating back to over 30 years ago.
Lorna Beach Mathura, the ex-employee making accusations against Adams, sought access to records to counter his statement that they had never worked together.
“When the Kingsland Avenue warehouses sustained major flood damage during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, all physical personnel documents and employment files for defendant Adams were destroyed,” stated Maxwell Layton, the City Attorney, regarding the Greenpoint Storage Facility in May.
This letter was submitted to the Manhattan Supreme Court nearly a year after Mathura’s legal team initially requested these records.
Her lawyers have denounced the city’s recent explanations as “disincentives” and “a transparent attempt to delay and annoy the discovery process.”
“The timing and nature of this revelation are highly suspicious, appearing almost two years after the records were requested and the lawsuit was filed,” attorney Siobang Krassen remarked in response to the city’s attorney.
Krassen also insisted that the city produce a “detailed” custody record, aiming to substantiate that Adams’ files were stored in the affected areas and irreparably lost due to the flooding damage.
According to a letter covered by The Daily News, the city hasn’t pursued electronic records linked to allegations, citing an “overloaded” request.
Another attorney for Mathura, Megan Goddard, criticized Adams for what she termed “intentional obstruction,” asserting that they “cannot comply with it voluntarily.”
Goddard has requested that Judge Richard G. Latin require a sworn statement regarding the alleged loss of documents.
In 2023, Mathura filed a lawsuit against Adams for $5 million, claiming he coerced her into oral sex and that he masturbated and ejaculated when she refused.
Alex Spiro, Adams’ private attorney, brought forth a similar argument last year regarding the weaknesses in the findings against Mathura.
