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Adeel Mirza, NY Dem running for DA, allegedly sexually harassed subordinate, told her ‘I know you’re not white’: lawsuit
A Westchester County prosecutor has claimed her former boss — who is now running for District Attorney — aggressively questioned her race, telling her “I know you’re not white” be…
nypost.com
Adeel Mirza, NY Dem running for DA, allegedly sexually harassed subordinate, told her ‘I know you’re not white’: lawsuit
By
Social Links for Isabel Keane
Published Jan. 10, 2024, 5:53 p.m. ET
A Democrat running for Westchester County district attorney was accused of sexually harassing a female subordinate in the prosecutor’s office and questioning her race — allegedly telling her “I know you’re not white.”
The allegations against Adeel Mirza, who previously worked in the DA office as a prosecutor and recently announced a run for the top job, were part of a lawsuit filed by a former coworker alleging a hostile work environment.
After the alleged victim was hired by the District Attorney’s Office in 2019, Mirza repeatedly invited her out for drinks and told her the only way for her to succeed was to “become close to people like” him, the lawsuit claims.
While out at drinks Mirza allegedly bombarded her with questions like “What is your race?” and “Are you Hispanic?”
He then prodded her about her race, allegedly saying “I know you’re not white,” and “Come on, we can all tell, for obvious reasons, that you aren’t white,” according to the lawsuit.
4 Adeel Mirza, who is running for Westchester County District Attorney, was accused of sexual harassment for a former DA employee. Mirza4DA / Facebook
When the former prosecutor, who identifies as African American in the suit, told Mirza she is leaving, he “forced his arm around [her] waist and aggressively shoved his hand down the back of her pants,” the lawsuit claims.
“With his hand placed on [her] buttocks, Mirza then leaned in and demanded to know “Why are you so afraid of me?” the woman alleged.
After reporting the incident the woman claims she faced retaliation from her supervisor, Shameika Mathurin, who is a close friend of Mirza, including fabricated reasons to give her negative performance reviews and “four times as much work” as her white male coworkers.
4 The woman alleges Mirza repeatedly asked her out for drinks and said to succeed she would have to “become close to people like” him, the lawsuit claims. Mirza4DA / Facebook
Following her report, the woman was then allegedly demoted to a role where her new boss — another friend of Mirza — asked her to investigate an incident where a man was charged with menacing and harassing his neighbor, the lawsuit said.
While looking into the case, the woman discovered evidence suggesting that the neighbor was the initial aggressor — which she relayed to Adimari, who then “coached the arresting officer into giving a different version of the facts in an attempt to cover the exculpatory evidence,” the lawsuit alleges.
In a disclosure letter, the woman noted the two different versions of events — which she alleged Adimari edited in a way that “did not accurately portray the arresting officer’s statements,” according to the suit.
4 The woman accuses numerous DA employees, as well as the DA and the county for the discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Westchester County District Attorney's Office
When she refused to sign Adimari’s edited version, which she felt was “deliberately inaccurate,” Adimari allegedly began “violently slamming doors and aggressively screaming statements intended to publicly impugn [her] character,” according to the suit.
Eighteen days after reporting Adimari’s allegedly inaccurate disclosure letter, the woman was allegedly fired.
In the lawsuit, the woman claims her supervisors at the District Attorney’s Office “fabricated a story about [her] dishonesty in order to create a pretextual reason for terminating [her].”
4 Mirza is one of three Democrats running for Westchester’s district attorney spot. Ru Ros / Yonkers Voice
The woman is seeking a declaratory judgment that states the county, District Attorney’s Office and her former bosses violated the law, and damages to be determined at a trial, including punitive damages and attorneys fees and whatever the court deems “just and proper.”
Mirza, who had worked for the District Attorney’s Office for almost two decades before he was terminated in 2021 when current DA Mimi Rocah took office. Rocah, a former MSNBC contributor, isn’t seeking a second term.
When reached by The Post, a spokesperson for Mirza’s campaign said: “Adeel is the most qualified person in this race, which is why his opponents are trying to dig up a frivolous lawsuit that has already been substantially rejected by the court. Adeel has effectively prosecuted drug dealers, gang members and murderers as a prosecutor in the Westchester DA’s office and as the District Attorney he’s going to balance public safety and justice.”
He is one of three Democrats running to fill the role in deeply blue Westchester, according to News 12. No Republicans have entered the race.
A DA office spokesperson declined comment, saying the office didn’t discuss ongoing litigation.
