Jeffrey Madeley's lawyer took to his defense Friday, claiming the disgraced NYPD chief had a “consensual” relationship with the lieutenant who allegedly sexually abused him, and is considering civil suit against her. He said he is doing so.
The former chief, who abruptly resigned a week ago as an overtime sex scandal engulfed America's largest police force, stood silently next to his lawyer with fists clenched as he hammered out scathing accusations.
“We can now say that those allegations are false. They are not true. We deny every aspect of them,” Lambros Lambreau told reporters. “I can tell you now, Lieutenant. [Quathisha] Epps has been under investigation by the Home Office since October for failing to work overtime. ”
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Mr. Epps accused Mr. Mudley, then the highest-ranking uniformed officer, of forcing him to provide sexual favors in exchange for huge amounts of overtime and other perks.
Epps, 51, was promoted to the highest-ranking police officer on the force by Mayor Eric Adams and began working in Madley's office in June 2023 when she was sexually assaulted by him. He filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, alleging coercion. .
Lambreau claimed that it was Epps who started the relationship with Madrid, but maintained that it was consensual.
Attorneys claimed they had a wealth of evidence, including racy videos and photos that Epps sent to Madeley. Mr. Lambreau also claimed that Mr. Epps is a “self-proclaimed swinger.”
The lawyer said Epps lied to Madeley to shift the blame away from the fact that she worked a large amount of overtime that she never worked.
“Now Lt. Epps has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and is trying to deflect from his own wrongdoing by making these accusations in the hopes that Chief Madeley will be spared part or all of the scheme. “Yes,” the lawyer said.
“But the truth is that Lt. Epps had a brief but consensual adult relationship with Jeff.”
Lambreaux said Epps' claims that he engaged in sordid sexual exchanges to get OT pay are untrue because Madley was not involved in approving OT time.
Mr. Madeley “never approved, awarded, or signed overtime,” the attorney said, adding that approving OT time was the job of the supervisor, not the chief.
Madeley said nothing during the 16th minute presser.
Ms. Epps claimed that Mr. Madeley exploited her by force to get her to agree to a degrading arrangement, knowing that she was in financial distress and at risk of having her home foreclosed on. Epps claimed he had sex with Madeley, 53, about 10 times.
Mr. Epps earned a mind-boggling $400,000 salary and $204,000 in overtime last year, payroll records revealed.
She submitted her resignation earlier this month after nearly 20 years with the NYPD. She was subsequently suspended for 30 days as the Home Office launched an investigation into her unusually high overtime pay.
But her lawyer Eric Saunders said last week that she was exposed as OT's top earner in retaliation for trying to end their sexual relationship.
Since the scandal broke, Madley's wife has reportedly kicked him out of their home in Queens, where he is now living with family in Georgia, sources said.
However, Mr. Lambreau also slammed these claims, saying: We're in New York and Jeff is here too. ”
This is not the first time Mr. Madrid has been accused of sexual misconduct. Former police officer Tabitha Foster filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Madley in 2016, alleging he offered her sex benefits in exchange for work.
Lambreau claims that Sanders also initially represented Foster, but that the lawyer “abandoned” her “midway through” the case and “ran away” before the case was ultimately dismissed. He pointed out that he did.
“Perhaps that lawyer had something to do with Lt. Epps' sudden turnaround,” Lambreaux said.
And just days before Epps' accusations became public, Lt. Gabriel Walls asked a judge to allow Madley to be added as a defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit against another New York City police chief starting in July.
Lambreaux also denied these claims, saying his client never worked with Walls and only met her a few times or at a Christmas party with her husband.
“Others have decided to trot out false claims,” Lambreau said. But Madeley “never lifted a finger.” [Walls] Or maybe I was looking at her the wrong way. ”
Lambreau said Madley is “at a boiling point” and is “going to take the gloves off and fight for honor.”
Sanders did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Walls' lawyer claimed she was “piggybacking” on sexual abuse allegations against Madeley.
“In fact, Capt. Walls filed a sexual harassment complaint against Chief Madeley in July, and three days before Epps' allegations became public, we moved to add him as a named defendant,” John said. Scola told The Post on Friday evening.
“Chief Madeley has been sexually harassing our client since 2015. Officer Walls is lying, is not eligible for promotion, and makes unsubstantiated claims that he is not responsible.” It represents a long-standing pattern of degrading and mistreating people.”
