A federal lawsuit alleges that Manhattan prosecutors enlisted colleagues at the DA’s office and coordinated with the NYPD to target her estranged husband, a reporter for the New York Times, amid a contentious custody dispute.
Assistant District Attorney Amanda Goun reportedly conspired to have her husband, journalist Joseph Goldstein, arrested in 2022 on exaggerated assault and child abuse accusations to influence custody arrangements for their two young children.
“Rather than accept the findings of an NYPD officer who investigated the claims, Goun opted to misuse her authority as a prosecutor to file a false criminal charge against Goldstein,” asserts the lawsuit filed by him.
This complaint, submitted on May 16, names Goun, along with two other prosecutors and two NYPD personnel, as defendants.
Goun, prosecutors Kelly Keating and Lawrence Newman, who now work at the Brooklyn DA’s office, have not replied to requests for statements on the matter.
Officials from the Manhattan DA’s office have declined to discuss the case, only confirming they are aware of the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the Brooklyn DA’s office refrained from comments, noting that Newman joined their team from the legal department of the NYPD after the alleged conspiracy occurred.
The NYPD has not responded regarding the complaint, which includes Detective Rachel Lutz and Officer Carmen Fabian as co-defendants.
The lawsuit says Goun and Goldstein met in 2014, married in 2015, and had children together. Following Goun’s departure from the Manhattan DA’s office, she returned in 2022 as their relationship began to deteriorate.
Goun filed for divorce on September 2, 2022. According to the suit, both entered Goldstein’s Brooklyn apartment to “gather evidence” to use against him during the divorce process.
Amid troubling family dynamics, Goun reportedly called 911 on October 8, 2022, claiming Goldstein hurt her during a dispute. However, after consulting with someone named Lawrence about how to frame her story, her account changed, leading to a felony charge against Goldstein.
The allegations escalated, with Goun claiming he not only harmed her but also physically abused their children, and the lawsuit suggests she coached the kids to support these false claims.
This series of accusations reportedly subjected Goldstein to a prolonged ordeal, prompting a Manhattan judge to issue protective orders regarding the children.
The suit accuses Newman and Detective Lutz of collaborating with Goun to submit “false” reports based on her narrative, while Keating and Fabian allegedly contributed by fabricating charges against Goldstein.
He faced accusations that endangered the welfare of his children, all stemming from what he asserts are coached statements by them.
The case was later relocated to the Bronx at the Manhattan DA’s request.
Ultimately, the charges against Goldstein were dropped, allowing him partial custody of the children, and a separate investigation into the supposed abuse was also concluded without findings of wrongdoing.
Goldstein’s lawsuit, which spans 62 pages, seeks unspecified damages and the return of personal property he claims Goun took.
He declined to comment further regarding the situation.
Both Goun and Keating remain employed at the Manhattan DA’s office, while Newman left for unrelated reasons about two months post-dispute and has since found work in the Brooklyn DA’s office.
