“Based on New Information, We Have Retained the Case” Against former Council President
Mike Khader
Findings in Independent IG’s Report of No Rent Payments and Quid Pro Quo-Unresolved
By Dan Murphy
Editor’s Note: In the June 13 issue of Yonkers Rising, we reported on the fact that an independent report from the Yonkers IG, concerning Council President candidate Mike Khader, was in the possession of Westchester DA Susan Cacace’s office. Since that story, the DA’s office emailed us two comments. The first, was that the Khader matter was being referred to the Ethics Board, and not the IG, for review.
Then the final correspondence we received from Cacace’s office was that “Based on new information, we are retaining the matter and not sending it to the Ethics Board.” This statement confirms that Cacace’s office was reviewing the IG report against Khader and “based on new evidence,” will continue to conduct their investigation.
Below is the story that ran in Yonkers Rising on June 13.
An independent report found that former Council President Mike Khader did not make rent payments for law office space he rented from an attorney who then got a Yonkers taxpayer-funded job is in the possession of Westchester District Attorney Susan Cacace’s office. We asked Cacace’s office about the status of their review and were told, “We have referred the matter back to the Yonkers IG.”
Yonkers Inspector Liam McLaughlin issued a report from an independent law firm and investigator in 2024 which found that Khader “admitted that he did not pay rent to SBJ from in or about March 2017 until in or about December 2018. In an apparent attempt to improperly interfere with, obstruct, or otherwise hinder this investigation, Khader provided conflicting reasons for not paying rent.”
In public comments since then, Khader has continued to call the allegations against him a witch hunt and nonsense. However, the fact remains that Khader has not provided proof or an explanation as to why there are no checks or evidence of payments showing that he made the rent payments in question.
Here’s the timeline of events:
Khader served as Council President from 2017 to 2021 and is running in a Democratic primary on June 24 to return to that office. In 2021, Khader was running for reelection when allegations surfaced in the media of a “Quid Pro Quo” between Khader and attorney Jeff Buss, in which Khader received free rent at Buss’s law office on Yonkers Avenue.
Buss was appointed a counsel to the then Council President Khader at a salary of $70,000 per year.
Following the allegations, six members of the Yonkers City Council requested that Inspector General Liam McLaughlin conduct an investigation.
McLaughlin, also a former council president, hired an outside counsel and investigator to conduct the inquiry.
in 2021, Khader called the matter a witch hunt and lost the Democratic primary to Collins-Bellamy.
In July of last year, 2024, IG McLaughlin released the independent report which found that Khader was “In violation of the Yonkers’ Code of Ethics, and appearing to be in violation of Article 200 of the New York State Penal Law. Khader received rent-free office space from his City-paid counsel’s law firm, Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP (“SBJ”). It is undisputed that Khader received rent-free office space and related office services from SBJ from or about March 2017 until or about December 2018.
The reports investigators identified the value of the rent that Khader did not pay for 22 months to be between $11,000 -$17,600. Additionally, Khader was able to utilize the support staff from the law offices of Smith, Buss & Jacobs at no cost.
“Khader used SBJ paralegals to support his legal practice, including for the filing of court documents, at times relevant to this Investigation. … it is clear that Khader used the SBJ office space and had the benefit of SBJ office services, including paralegals and notaries, during a time when he claimed not to be practicing law and paid no rent to SBJ. Such services are of value to an attorney, but Khader never paid for such services. The Investigators find that such valuable services were part of the quid pro quo.”\
The report details numerous examples where Khader was practicing law after telling the IG and investigators that he was not. In one instance, Khader, serving as a court-appointed receiver, submits his bill for services, stating that he “exhausted countless hours” on the case and “performed extensive” work.
At the same time, Khader swore in his deposition that he had stopped or slowed his law practice. Khader’s bill for those services was $37,634.05 and signed the court report using SBJ’s address of 733 Yonkers Avenue, Suite 200.
Khader’s sworn statements in this Investigation and his sworn statements to the Court in the Matter of Joseph Carriere’s Report are clearly inconsistent. Khader’s sworn statements in this Investigation that he stopped or slowed his law practice and that he did not use SBJ’s office as such are demonstrably false and disproven by Khader’s court filings,” states the report.
In the fall of 2021, Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah reviewed the independent IG’s report. However, after deciding not to run for reelection, her office did not conclude or opine on the matter of Mike Khader. Apparently, there was not enough time, given that a new District Attorney, Susan Cacace, came into office in January 2025, to conclude the inquiry, and no comment was ever made by DA Rocah’s office on the matter.
We have confirmed that Cacace’s office has the IG’s report and has now sent the matter back to McLaughlin. We don’t know the reasons why.
In recent video interviews and candidate forums, Khader has been vocal in his defense, stating that the allegations are false and without merit. In one interview with Ru Ros on Yonkers Voice, Khader called McLaughlin, a Liar, and claimed, “I provided documents to Liam’s office, I provided it to the investigator, and I provided it to LoHud.”
Khader did not indicate what documents he provided to anyone. Still, we have confirmed that the documents that would exonerate him, including proof that he paid rent to Buss for the period in question, such as rent checks, were not provided.
We reviewed the investigator’s comments and verified their conclusion in the report that “We, the Investigators, conclude that Khader (and Buss/SBJ) failed to provide any credible evidence as to why SBJ provided him with rent-free office space and office services and that such valuable office space (valued at approximately $11,000 – $17,600) and office services (valued at approximately $11,600) were provided as part of a quid pro quo arrangement between Khader and Buss/SBJ whereby Buss received multiple contracts totaling approximately $240,000.”
“Khader does not dispute that he never paid rent to SBJ for suites 200 or 303 for the period March 2017 through or about December 2018. Khader, instead, alternatively and inconsistently argues that it was because he did not practice law, because he only used the office for storage, and because of the state and condition of the office.
“Khader alternatively claims that he did not pay rent because he was not practicing law at the time. The undisputed facts are that Khader was engaged in the practice of law from March 2017 to December 2018.
The crux of the allegations made against Khader four years ago, which were confirmed in the report, remains the same. What rent was Khader paying to Smith, Buss & Jacobs, and did those payments change when Buss was hired at a salary of $70,000 per year to serve as Khader’s counsel to the Council President, a taxpayer-paid position?
We still do not have an answer to this question,” end of story printed June 13.
What “New Information” has DA Cacace’s office received in the matter of Mike Khader? We do not know.
And synonyms for retain include to keep, hold onto, and maintain.
