former Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader
The allegations of quid pro quo outlined in Liam McLaughlin’s report are entirely baseless and unsupported by facts. I have neither owed rent to anyone nor received any free office support services from SBJ, and have provided documents to media sources to prove the report is a biased political attack. The timing of this report is nothing more than a political intimidation tactic, similar to the bogus attacks during my 2021 campaign. This investigation was conducted over three years ago, yet the Yonkers Political Machine release it now to attempt to poison my anticipated candidacy. In short, Liam, whom I beat in 2017 and who hasn’t gotten over it, and has weaponized the Office of Inspector General to go after political enemies that want to clean up Yonkers’ government.
Unusually, the report was leaked to the media before either my attorney or I could review it, a clear indication of the Political Machine’s interference, which became evident when they learned about my upcoming campaign fundraiser. The emails were leaked from a fake non-governmental email address.
There was never a “sweetheart deal.” I rented from SBJ prior to June 2017 and vacated after announcing my candidacy for City Council President. This action marked the onset of political retribution. Thereafter, SBJ Partners met with Robert Spolzino and Liam McLaughlin to secure a multi-million dollar City contract. Spolzino was made a partner at SBJ, and Liam McLaughlin voted to approve the contract and secured a financial contribution, exposing the report’s political bias.
The report misrepresents the office space situation. I was actively seeking new office space in 2018, and gave the names of five local attorneys that I contacted about office space, yet none of these attorneys were contacted to confirm my attempts to secure office space in 2018. Truth and facts were cherry-picked to invent the claims of a sweetheart deal. The space provided by SBJ was in a state of disrepair, making it unsuitable for my type of law practice.
McLaughlin’s report relies on witnesses with clear political motives, seeking retribution and financial gain, which undermines their credibility. The witnesses who spoke positively about my integrity were omitted from the report. This report, funded by Yonkers taxpayers at a cost likely exceeding $1 million, is a flagrant misuse of resources. Also, the notion that I received free office support services is false as notarizing documents is a well known common professional courtesy in our industry.
McLaughlin’s involvement in this report reflects his own political wrongdoing. My successor, Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, is grandstanding on a report that tries to hurt me financially and politically. She should worry about her own controversies, including Hatch Act violations and securing jobs for family members, to name a few. Together, McLaughlin and Collins-Bellamy and their family members are costing Yonkers taxpayers over $1 million in annual salaries.
Finally, the fact that McLaughlin targets me while ignoring obvious conflicts, complaints and referrals about other Yonkers elected officials further demonstrates how his office is functioning as a weapon against political rivals. This is a witch hunt. The one thing they have not discussed is how they plan to make our city better for all in Yonkers. I’ll be waiting to tackle those issues, when they decide to move from propaganda and misinformtion to addressing real life problems and policy.
