Fishman, who was sentenced to 45 days in jail, says NYSAG should face same scrutiny after officer admits no crime was committed
By Dan Murphy
This week’s bombshell federal indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James has rocked the political world, and more locally, reignited debate about how justice is applied in New York—and who is held accountable when it fails.
On October 9, a grand jury in Virginia charged James with bank-fraud-related offenses linked to a 2020 mortgage application. She has pleaded not guilty, calling the case “politically motivated.”
The case has drawn sharp scrutiny over the one of Marc Fishman, a disabled father of four from New Rochelle, who was sentenced to 45 days in jail (exclusively reported in the Yonkers Times), and continues challenging a misdemeanor conviction from nearly a decade ago as exculpatory evidence continues to mount.
Fishman’s legal saga seemed to have hopes of a dismissal after the Attorney General released her annual Law Enforcement Investigative Misconduct (LEMIO) Report in December, independently verifying Marc’s arrested officer had over 35 serious misconduct incidents involving civilians, including breaking into a hospital during the peak of the pandemic. (See“Former New Rochelle Cop Engaged in Years of Misconduct, says OAG”for a detailed breakdown.)
From Westchester to Washington DC
Fishman’s case shined further into national spotlight after Roger Stone, on his Stone Zone show, called the case “one of the most disturbing miscarriages of justice” he’s encountered.
Fishman—who lives with traumatic brain injury and hearing loss—recently released exclusive exculpatory audio of arresting officer Lane Schlesinger stating that Fishman “did not commit a crime.” Schlesinger, later terminated by the New Rochelle Police Department, has a prior criminal record. Despite that, prosecutors pressed forward, a move Fishman says exposes selective justice in Westchester County and by the State AG. (See the bombshell evidence at newrochellepoliceabuse.com.)
Stone and Fishman highlighted how AG James pledged to be “the people’s lawyer” – yet has refused to take any action on the disabled father’s case.
Questions About Conflicts of Interest
Internal correspondence reviewed by Yonkers Times shows that state investigators were aware of multiple complaints against Schlesinger but declined to include them in the Attorney General’s final report. The officer, who was terminated by the New Rochelle Police Department in 2024, has since been tied to more than thirty-five documented misconduct incidents, including unlawful arrests and inappropriate behavior toward civilians.
Fishman points out that the Attorney General’s omission came even after Schlesinger’s own statements contradicted the prosecution’s case. In audio released earlier this year, Schlesinger can be heard acknowledging that Fishman “did not commit a crime.” Despite this, prosecutors continued pursuing charges, and the conviction stood.
“Any objective review would have made this public,” Fishman said. “Instead, they buried it because it reflected poorly on state and local officials–and it’s a clear pattern of discrimination by the so-called ‘People’s Lawyer.’”
INTENTIONAL COVER UP BY LETICIA JAMES OF THE EXTENSIVE FALSE ARRESTS, DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION AND WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS OF 17 YEAR NRPD EX-COP
According to documents and case records reviewed by the Yonkers Times, the Attorney General’s 29-month Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO) report released in May 2024 omitted key details about former New Rochelle Police Officer Lane Schlesinger, despite years of citizen complaints and internal findings of misconduct.
Fishman says the state’s failure to fully document the officer’s history of false arrests and disability-related mistreatment represents an institutional pattern of protecting insiders while ignoring victims.
“In every other misconduct case, the Attorney General’s office published the full record,” Fishman told the Yonkers Times. “When it comes to a disabled parent who tried to defend his rights, they left it out. That’s not oversight—that’s protection.”
Fishman recently appeared on The Roger Stone show on WABC 770, The Stone Zone, Radio to discuss his case. Stone called Fishman’s case and prosecution “a disturbing case that should alarm all parents.”
Listen to the interview here: https://wabcradio.com/episode/marc-fishman-09-24-25/
