Randy Mastro, Mayor Adams’ newly-minted top deputy, convinced a Manhattan judge last month to extend the timeline for a court case that’s sparked conflict-of-interest concerns over Mastro’s decision to remain a defense lawyer in the case, records reveal.
The Manhattan Federal Court case was brought by NBA legend Charles Oakley against the Madison Square Garden business empire over a dispute that ended with Oakley’s ejection from the Manhattan arena during a 2017 Knicks game.
As first reported by the Daily News, Mastro, a Giuliani administration alum and prominent attorney who started Tuesday as Adams’ new first deputy mayor, has opted to continue representing MSG and its billionaire owner, James Dolan, against Oakley’s suit in an unpaid capacity while serving as Adams’ No. 2 at City Hall.
But the arrangement has raised ethics questions; MSG and Dolan have extensive business interests before the Adams administration, including matters that involve tax breaks.
Last week, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak defended Mastro’s decision to keep repping MSG, saying the Conflicts of Interest Board gave him permission — and contending the case work will be limited since it’s expected to soon conclude.
But a transcript of a March 21 court hearing at which Mastro appeared on behalf of MSG indicates the case could have been on a tighter schedule if Mastro hadn’t requested to extend a timeline for him and Oakley’s lawyer to file certain papers — a query that raised an eyebrow from the presiding judge, Richard Sullivan.
At the hearing — held a day after Adams’ announced Mastro’s appointment — Sullivan initially gave Oakley’s lawyer two weeks to file a motion for sanctions against MSG and another two for Mastro to respond, a timeline Oakley’s lawyer consented to, the transcript reviewed by The News shows.
But Mastro interjected and urged the judge to give Oakley four weeks instead — and asked for another four weeks for his own filing. He said he wanted Oakley’s team to have a longer timeline so he could “get them under safe harbor,” a reference to a period during which a motion can be withdrawn. However, he also said he he wanted more time afterward to potentially bring his own sanctions against Oakley.
“I just don’t want to put this off forever, I thought people wanted to resolve this,” Sullivan replied, to which Mastro said he was okay with getting three weeks to file his papers.
With that timeline, Sullivan said the case will drag on at least until May 16, and “then we’ll see where we are.”
Asked Tuesday about the longer timeline, Mamelak said Mastro has the necessary approvals to represent MSG and that he’s recused from working on other matters related to MSG as first deputy.
Earlier Tuesday, Mastro, whose record of championing conservative causes in court resulted in the City Council blocking him from becoming Adams’ corporation counsel last year, made his first official appearance as first deputy at a City Hall press conference with the mayor.
At the event, Mastro said he had actually been working “for free” for the mayor since his March 20 appointment. That could compound ethics concerns, given Mastro still represented various clients in the stretch between March 20 and this week, including New Jersey in its bid to kill New York’s congestion pricing program.
After the press conference, Mamelak told The News Mastro’s work in that stretch was limited to media interviews and on-boarding new staff at City Hall.
