Accused Drug Kingpin Calls Out DA; Voters Ask: Will Hanks and Love Return Dirty Money?
By Rick LaRivière and Frankie Pressman with Richard Luthmann
Staten Island Smoke Show: Courtroom Chaos, Campaign Crisis
The fallout from Staten Island’s biggest political scandal in a decade deepened this week as accused drug kingpin Ettore Mazzei took aim at District Attorney Michael McMahon’s office during a bombshell court appearance.
While chained and clad in Rikers Island beige, Mazzei accused McMahon and his team of knowingly pursuing false charges.
“They’re trying to tie me to the crime,” Mazzei said from the courtroom well, adding that the case against him was “littered with lies, contradictions, and falsehoods”.
Now the political heat isn’t just on McMahon—it’s scorching Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks and her husband, millionaire developer Kevin Barry Love. Hanks never returned Mazzei’s campaign donations.
Her nonprofit, the Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership, had Mazzei on its board. Hanks paid herself over $82,000 annually from that organization.
When Mazzei was arrested in 2024, Hanks said she was “saddened” but kept the cash.
“It’s time for Kamillah Hanks to come clean,” said one local Democratic County Executive Committee Member. “You don’t get to call yourself a reformer while swimming in drug money and matching funds.”
Return the Money or Resign the Label
Critics are demanding that Hanks immediately return the tainted campaign funds or donate the total, including public NYC Matching Funds, to a legitimate charity.
“And not one run by Bobby Digi,” one insider quipped, referencing another Hanks ally with his own eyebrow-raising history.
“There is no way she should carry the Democratic Party label with this kind of corruption hanging over her,” said a Staten Island County Committee source. “She’s already hurting all Democrats by being called anti-cop and dirtying up DA McMahon. Now she’s taking money linked to an alleged fentanyl ring?”
Mazzei is accused of running a criminal empire out of his catering hall on Bay Street. Prosecutors allege the operation trafficked cocaine and committed bank fraud involving over $100,000 in stolen payments.
Mazzei’s daughter and son are co-defendants. Wiretaps captured co-conspirators calling him “Mazz.”
Yet in court, he painted himself as a victim and dragged Staten Island’s political class into the mud with him.
With the integrity of McMahon’s office in question, legal experts are asking whether the case should be transferred to a special prosecutor, moved out of Richmond County, or even handed over to the feds.
Don’t Rank Hanks: Ballot Blowback Begins
The political consequences for Hanks are immediate. Her maneuvering, along with DA McMahon’s top fixer Carmen Cognetta, successfully knocked NYPD widow Jozette Carter-Williams off the June 24 Democratic primary ballot.
But the move backfired.
A wave of Carter-Williams supporters has shifted to community advocate Abou Diakhate for the Democratic primary. Hanks challenged him, and he was confirmed to the ballot after a court ruling.
Diakhate has surged in June 24th Democratic Primary polling and picked up key Democratic endorsements.
Meanwhile, Carter-Williams has announced she will run as an independent in November with law enforcement backing..
“Diakhate and Carter-Williams are aligned to the extent that they want Hanks out. We all do,” said one Democratic County Committee member. “Rank and file Democratic voters are furious that Kamillah used the courts instead of campaigning on ideas. She’s forcing people out of the party.”
Grassroots momentum is now behind the “DON’T RANK HANKS” campaign—urging Democrats to rank all other candidates and leave Hanks off the ballot entirely.
“Don’t Rank Hanks is exactly what I am going to do at the primary. Abou, Berry, Blas, and out,” said a North Shore Democrat.
Staten Island Smoke Show: Real Irish, Fake Irish, and Luthmann
Adding to the noise is Richard Luthmann, a contributor to this outlet and a consistent gadfly to the corrupt political class. He is suing Hanks, Love, and the Hanks political campaign, claiming that he will recover “Bigly” and that the “McMahon machine” is manipulating the NYS Office of Court Administration on Hanks’ behalf.
Luthmann has created a “satire and entertainment” Facebook page called DON’T RANK HANKS.
The Facebook Page is titularly named “MIKE MCMAHON” because Luthmann says it’s a “repurposed page,” Facebook won’t let him change it, and “the Page never technically violated Facebook Community Standards.”
“Also, there’s a little-known legal concept called double jeopardy. I’ve paid the iron price for that Internet property. The government cannot charge me again,” Luthmann said, snickering. “Well, they can. But that would prove the vendetta I’ve been telling the Trump people all about.”
“This past week, we had the Irish Battle Royal, with Mike Cox telling Kevin Barry Love that he would rather die of hunger than take a sesame seed from him. Very Bobby Sands and very entertaining,” Luthmann said.
Mike Cox is a long-time political consultant whom Hanks and Love stiffed for $14,000 in 2017.
Luthmann says he holds a treasure trove of their secrets.
“Kevin Barry Love said in posts and emails that he complained about the ENTERTAINMENT page to the DA’s Office. Over the weekend, I got my hands on hundreds of emails, and I’m covered by litigation privilege,” said Luthmann. “McMahon is clearly connected to the Hanks Campaign. He’s a public figure, and by sending Carmen Cognetta in, he made himself fair game.”
Luthmann, though located 1,300 miles away, is tapping into a very local feeling: Staten Island voters are fed up. They want someone who will “Stop The Bullshit” and bring integrity back.
“We don’t need someone endorsed by the guy accused of killing our kids with fentanyl,” said one voter. “We need someone who backs cops, not someone who funds groups like True2Life that defend gang bangers and cop killer parole.”
By using back-room political-judicial deals and “insider trading,” many Democrats feel they have lost their voice in their own party. Some are looking hard at Independent candidates.
And the Staten Island Democratic Chair may be left holding the bag.
“Laura Sword’s days are numbered,” Luthmann said. “That’s what happens when you try to play three sides against the middle in a City Council election and don’t stop the arterial hemorrhage of disaffected Democrats becoming Independent voters. Cuomo can’t be too happy. This only further legitimizes Eric Adams on the heels of Cuomo’s campaign finance troubles. I heard Kamillah was also looking for money from that Super PAC.”
DA McMahon: Kingmaker or Career-ender?
DA Michael McMahon is taking hits from all directions.
First, he backed Hanks.
Then, his fixer, Cognetta was exposed as central to the legal challenges booting Carter-Williams.
Now, his office is facing direct accusations from the borough’s most notorious defendant.
“It’s a disaster,” said a well-known Manhattan Democratic consultant. “McMahon was outed playing kingmaker through the courts instead of letting voters decide—and he did it while undermining the NYPD.”
With law enforcement unions already aligned against Hanks, McMahon’s position is increasingly vulnerable.
“You’ve got cops, voters, and now Mazzei throwing shade at the DA’s office,” said one political insider. “He’s bleeding support from every side.”
Even within the Democratic Party, the writing is on the wall.
“Kamillah Hanks is done,” said one Staten Island Dem. “And if McMahon keeps clinging to her, he’s going down with that ship.”
Staten Island Smoke Show: Crisis of Credibility
The Ettore Mazzei scandal has already reshaped the North Shore race. It may now unravel two political careers.
With Mazzei naming names in open court and threatening to expose more misconduct, pressure is mounting on Hanks and Love to publicly disclose the full extent of their financial and political relationship with the accused crime boss.
“Transparency is no longer optional,” said a former campaign ethics attorney. “Kamillah Hanks needs to release her and the non-profit’s records, return the money, and explain why she’s so close to someone at the center of a narcotics and fraud ring. ‘I didn’t know,’ just doesn’t cut it anymore because there’s obviously more there.”
Until she does, the movement to erase her from the June 24 primary—and beyond—will only grow.
This isn’t just Staten Island politics anymore. It’s a reckoning.
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