Attorney: Wife of suburban NYC mayor accused of assaulting her wants to halt prosecution

Wife of suburban NYC mayor: Stop domestic case

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A suburban New York City mayor’s wife who accused her husband of slamming her hand in a door said Friday she no longer wants him prosecuted, less than a week after having him arrested for assault and claiming a history of physical abuse.

County prosecutors pushed ahead, however, and White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley is still scheduled to go on trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

The mayor, a 48-year-old Democrat who was elected in November, was arrested Sunday on an assault charge after Fumiko Bradley told police he had slammed her hand in a door. In court papers released Friday, she also claimed he had repeatedly abused her since October by pushing her down stairs, throwing hot tea at her and squeezing her arms so tightly they bruised.

She said the abuse had gotten worse since he was elected mayor last year.

But on Friday, just after Bradley’s case was transferred from city court to Westchester County’s domestic violence court, his wife’s lawyer said she “does not want this case to go forward.”

Attorney Neal Comer said Fumiko Bradley “does not want to testify or cooperate or be a witness.” If she is forced to testify, he said, “her testimony will not support these charges.”

Asked if the claims in the deposition were true, he said some “may not be accurate.” He would not elaborate. Fumiko Bradley stood next to him but did not speak.

Comer denied that the mayor’s position in White Plains had anything to do with her change of mind.

“I am not influenced by the mayor,” Comer said.

The office of District Attorney Janet DiFiore would not comment on how Bradley, a former state assemblyman, would be prosecuted without the wife’s cooperation.

After his brief appearance in city court, the mayor went immediately to county court to ask Judge Susan Capeci to soften an order of protection that was issued upon his arrest and barred him from approaching or talking to his wife. The judge questioned the attorneys and granted the request.

Comer said Fumiko Bradley did not feel endangered by her husband and did not need or want any order of protection.

Prosecutor Amy Puerto told the judge that it is not uncommon for women who make domestic violence allegations to become reluctant witnesses. She said she was ready for trial and Capeci set April 1 for a pretrial conference.

The mayor’s attorney, Luis Penichet, requested a jury trial.

Comer said his client had been influenced by third parties “not acting in her interest” when she made her complaint. He did not give names. He also said the Japan-born Fumiko Bradley may have had trouble with English as she spoke to prosecutors.

Adam Bradley did not speak to reporters. His lawyer, asked for his reaction to Fumiko Bradley’s apparent change of heart, said only that it was a personal matter.

In a similar high-profile domestic violence case in the New York suburbs, cable TV newsman Dominic Carter was convicted of attempted assault although his wife recanted her complaint against him. Carter served 19 days in jail earlier this year and was ordered to keep away from his wife for two years.