A City Hall staffer was fired Wednesday after reportedly referring a Brooklyn bar owner to James Caban, the twin brother of now former Police Commissioner Edward Caban who is under scrutiny from the feds for using his family ties to drum up security business.
Raymond Martin, an operations coordinator in the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, was let go for violating the terms of his employment, mayoral spokesman Fabien Levy said, without specifying what the violation was.
NBC-4’s Jonathan Dienst reported that after Martin referred the bar owner, Shamel Kelly, to James Caban, Caban asked Kelly for $2,500 to make problems with NYPD enforcement go away. “He (James Caban) said he will mediate my issues with the NYPD.” Kelly said in the report.
Martin most recently served as operations coordinator and community coordinator in the Community Affairs Unit, where he began in April 10, 2023, a source familiar with his employment history said. He made just over $74,000 in 2023. Immediately before that, he worked in the Office of Media and Entertainment, the source said.
Levy tied Martin’s departure to the reporting by NBC.
“We appreciate WNBC for bringing this information to our attention yesterday afternoon. After receiving this inquiry, we immediately began an internal review and found that Mr. Martin violated the terms of his employment,” Levy said. “Mr. Martin was terminated for cause yesterday. We expect all city employees to act ethically and in the public interest.”
In addition to Edward Caban, four other top Adams administration officials including Deputy Mayors Philip Banks and Sheena Wright, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Senior Mayoral Advisor Timothy Pearson had their phones taken last week by federal agents.
In the NBC report, Kelly said he was getting hit with noise complaints at his Juice and More spot on Mermaid Ave. near W. 19th St. in Coney Island and pressed by officers from the 60th Precinct to address the complaints when he reached out to Martin for help. Martin then referred Kelly to Caban who could help eliminate the pressure from the NYPD, he said in the report.
“He (Martin) said he was an assistant of Eric Adams and he knew people and he dropped the name of (Police Commissioner) Eddie Caban and I was having problems with the NYPD,” Kelly told the NBC.
Through his lawyers, Caban denied wrongdoing, the report said, echoing similar statements Caban’s reps have made to the News.
“His work as a consultant and acting as a liaison between the department and a private company is perfectly legal especially given his previous career as an NYPD officer,” the statement said.
Sean Hecker, a prominent white collar defense attorney retained as Caban’s lawyer previously told the News in a statement that “our client has fully cooperated with law enforcement and, once their investigation is complete, it will be clear that these claims are unfounded and lack merit.”
Kelly said he shut down Juice and More in February.
The News reported Wednesday that Caban received an NYPD driver and vehicle when he was in the city. His brother, Edward Caban, resigned Thursday amid the ongoing federal probe.