Federal authorities subpoenaed New York City’s head of asylum seeker services Friday — looking for records on migrant contracting as part of a probe into one of Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides, The Post has learned.
Molly Schaeffer, director of the city’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, was hit with the information-sharing request by the feds Friday at her Brooklyn home, according to law enforcement sources.
Sources said the subpoena is connected to an investigation into Timothy Pearson, a retired NYPD inspector who advises Adams on public safety.
The feds are looking into whether Pearson, who oversees security deals for migrant shelters, may have allegedly interfered with picking contractors in exchange for illegal kickbacks, sources have said.
The feds grilled a number of cops in Pearson’s obscure city unit, the Municipal Services Assessment, earlier this year about city contracting, according to sources.
Similar allegations emerged in an April lawsuit that quoted Pearson telling people in the MSA that he was looking for a cut of the city deals.
“Do you know how these contracts work?” Pearson allegedly asked some of the employees of the unit in October 2022, according to the lawsuit, filed by a staffer in the unit. “People are doing very well on these contracts. I have to get mine. Where are my crumbs?”
Pearson had his phones taken by the feds two weeks ago during a large-scale sweep of city officials’ devices.
Reached by phone Friday, Schaeffer told The Post there was no raid, but did not deny the feds had visited her home.
She referred further questions to the City Hall press office before hanging up abruptly.
Calls to the Southern District of New York were not immediately returned.
“We have repeatedly said, we expect all team members to fully comply with any ongoing inquiry,” Deputy Mayor of Communication Fabien Levy said in a statement when asked about the subpoena.
“Molly Schaeffer is an integral part of our team and works hard every day to deliver for New Yorkers,” he said.
Schaeffer was hired by City Hall back under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019 after spending the prior five years in city government, according to her LinkedIn.
Calls have been growing for Adams to fire Pearson and other close aides who had their phones seized by the feds — but, when asked about it earlier this week, Hizzoner argued the public couldn’t care less about the dizzying myriad of federal probes.
Loyalty to his longtime ally lost the mayor his top legal counsel over the weekend.
The shocking resignation of Lisa Zornberg came late Saturday after Adams refused to push Pearson out the door, sources said.
Zornberg also called for two other top officials ensnared in federal probes to go, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and the city’s director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco.
The fresh subpoenas come just a day after the feds dropped another set of court orders for information on the mayor’s former chief of staff, Frank Carone, and Brooklyn Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, according to sources.
