The recording that rocked Staten Island: A detective admits the DA’s name is a golden ticket for felony charges—no due process needed.
The Recording They Didn’t Want You to Hear
On July 21, 2025, NYPD Detective John Wilkinson spoke with attorney Lawrence Almagno. The conversation lasted just over three minutes. But it exposed what appears to be a rigged warrant operation tied directly to Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.
In the recorded call, Wilkinson confirms he is the case detective for a criminal contempt charge against journalist Richard Luthmann. The complaining witness? “It’s the Staten Island DA,” Wilkinson says. “McMahon,” Almagno replies. “Yep,” Wilkinson confirms.
Then Wilkinson drops the line that changes everything.
“With the victim who it is… I get whatever I want.”
Wilkinson continues, “I ask for X, I get it. I ask for Z, I get it.”
What was X or Z in this case? A felony arrest warrant. And the use of U.S. Marshals to extradite Luthmann from Florida. Over what? An automatically generated newsletter was sent to 33,000 subscribers, including McMahon himself.
The Email That Triggered a Felony Warrant
On July 13, 2025, Luthmann’s Substack newsletter, This is For Real, sent out a post authored by psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee. The article discussed political psychology and mental health in public officials. It didn’t mention McMahon. It contained no threats.
Still, McMahon filed a criminal complaint, claiming he feared for his life.
Substack records show he had voluntarily subscribed to, read, and clicked on links in the newsletter for weeks. And yet he used the arrival of a singular email in his inbox at 10:51 am on a Sunday morning as a pretext for a criminal case.
Wilkinson made clear the charge would be elevated. “Criminal contempt is charged as a felony,” he told Almagno. He acknowledged that contempt isn’t always a felony, but said plainly, “We, PD is gonna charge the felony.”
There is no evidence that Luthmann was ever served with an order of protection. No hearing. No notice. Just a claim and a detective ready to “do my thing.”
The Fix Was In from the Start
Wilkinson also revealed that a special prosecutor would be assigned after the arrest. “There will be. Of course. We know that,” Wilkinson said, brushing off the procedural order of operations.
He offered to delay for a few days before obtaining the warrant, but reiterated that the wheels were already in motion. “It was going to be this week… I was going to get an arrest warrant and do my thing.”
The timing is telling. McMahon is under fire from Luthmann and others for past corruption, including the Special Narcotics Part N court’s manipulation of criminal warrants and ties to political insiders. Prosecuting Luthmann would silence a critic and send a message to others. It worked before in 2018.
This isn’t just a rogue detective making a loose comment. It’s a cop explaining how justice works when the right people pull the strings.
Staten Island’s Justice System on Trial
The bigger question is how far this rot goes. Wilkinson made no secret that the fix was in: judges would comply, warrants would be issued, and the case would proceed, regardless of its merit.
That places the Staten Island judiciary in the crosshairs, especially Judge Raymond Rodriguez. In filed court documents, Luthmann has publicly accused Rodriguez of being too close to McMahon and of rubber-stamping politically motivated prosecutions. Rodriguez hasn’t recused himself.
The recording, now submitted to NYPD Internal Affairs and the NYC Department of Investigation, may be just the first domino. If Wilkinson’s statements are true, Staten Island’s Warrant Squad operates more like a political enforcement unit than a neutral law enforcement agency.
“If this can happen to me,” Luthmann said, “it can happen to anyone who criticizes the McMahons or their allies.”
He’s not wrong. A felony arrest over an email newsletter? A case built on an unsubscribed public document? And a detective who thinks the DA’s name is a blank check?
This isn’t law enforcement. It’s LAWFARE. And now, thanks to a recording that was never meant to see the light of day, we know how it works.
Full Audio of the Exchange:
About The Author
