By Frank Parlato
One record is a four-page affidavit from an employee detailing a violent sexual assault. The other is a 1.5-page memo authored by her superiors—Public Advocate Letitia James’s Senior Aide, Laura Acosta, and legal counsel, Jennifer Levy—that recasts the same event as a case of a misplaced purse.
A Decade-Long Allegation
For more than ten years, Angel DuBose has alleged that New York Public Advocate Letitia James’s office orchestrated a cover-up. These two documents are core exhibits in her claim.
The evidence is comparative: version A vs. version B of the EEO complaint.
The Night of the Party
DuBose’s account states that the Director of Policy, Amber Greene, lured her upstairs at the holiday party on December 22, 2014. She said that James’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Khan, wished to speak with her at the bar.
Earlier, according to DuBose, Khan twirled her and called her beautiful in front of the staff at the party.
The Bar Upstairs
Once upstairs at Woodrow’s Bar & Grill, DuBose went to speak with Khan alone at the bar. He ordered her a drink; she alleges his hand hovered over the glass while he stared intently, gazing into her eyes.
Her last clear memory was stepping outside to smoke, her purse on her arm, and seeing the Public Advocate’s black Lincoln Town Car pull up — the official car of the office.
The Abduction
Then, she says, two of James’s staffers, Christopher Marshall and Wayne Collins, grabbed her from behind—with Collins putting an arm over her face.
DuBose says she became semi-conscious, and Collins and Marshall moved her into the Public Advocate’s black Lincoln Town Car. Seated to her left, she identifies Letitia James, who, she says, asked twice: “Is she out?”
stayed with James and is now a Detective at the Office of the New York State Attorney General No photo is available currently of Marshal
Waking Up Alone
DuBose recalls regaining consciousness outside, in the rain, without a coat or her bags.
“They drugged me, and I was moved against my will and left for dead,” she told the Frank Report.
The Aftermath and the Alternative Narrative
She underwent a forensic sexual-assault examination the next day.
The following day, December 24, 2014, DuBose returned to the office.
According to DuBose, her coworker Sarah Venezuela told her that she had placed an intoxicated DuBose in a cab—an account DuBose says conflicts with her memory of waking alone in the rain, far from home, and later hailing a cab herself.
Separately, Deputy Outreach Director Laura Atlas reportedly “found” DuBose’s phone in a restroom.
DuBose maintains the “found phone” claim was part of a narrative to explain away her missing belongings, which she says were with her when she was placed in the car.
Assistant Vice President External Affairs for NYC Health + Hospitals
The Official Complaint and the Rewrite
The Christmas and New Year holidays came, and on her first day back to work in 2015, on January 5, DuBose submitted her four-page detailed complaint to her supervisor, Laura Acosta.
On January 7, Acosta called DuBose to her office. Seated there also was the office legal counsel, Jennifer Levy.
The two had rewritten her complaint as an “EEO Intake Memo,” and they wanted her to sign it.
DuBose read the revised version and was shocked to find it completely different than what she had written.
“I believe the plan was to make me appear intoxicated and justify putting me into a car as cover for what followed,” DuBose said.
A Side-by-Side Analysis
Her original claim (Jan. 5) was her detailed account of being drugged and abducted.
The Acosta-Levy rewrite of Jan. 7 describes the event as “lost your purse, a second bag and your coat but did not recall how it happened.”
Acosta and Levy removed all mentions of assault, drugs, abduction, and names.
The document claims DuBose said, “I just want to move on, I just want to do my Job and move on.”
The document frames the entire meeting as being about employment concerns, not criminal allegations, diverting the conversation away from the assault.
The original complaint described waking up on the ground, disoriented, and in emotional shock—classic symptoms of drugging.
The memo mentions waking up on the ground but strips away the context of terror and confusion, making it sound like a simple case of drunkenness or carelessness.
The final line is the most critical: Acosta wrote, “I confirmed that I would be having a discussion with the other senior staff to find the best place for you (DuBose) to continue your work with this office.”
DuBose says she perceived this as an implicit threat to her employment: accept the memo’s framing or risk her position.
The Two Documents Compared
DuBose Affidavit (Jan 5, 2015) / EEO Intake Memo by Acosta & Levy (Jan 7, 2015)
Nature of Incident
Affidavit: Violent Assault & Abduction
Memo: Lost Purse and Coat
Perpetrators
Affidavit: Names Letitia James, Ibrahim Khan, et al.
Memo: No individuals named.
Cause of Memory Loss
Affidavit: Implied Drugging and Assault
Memo: Unstated (implies alcohol)
DuBose’s Stated Goal
Affidavit: Reporting a Crime and Finding Answers.
Memo: To “move on” and just do her job.
Coordinated Effort
The January 7 memo demonstrates a conscious, coordinated effort by Public Advocate Letitia James’s administration to:
- Protect James, Khan, and other staff from criminal liability.
- Created an official HR record that directly contradicts the victim’s account.
Ascent to Power
At the time of the alleged assault, Letitia James was the New York City Public Advocate. Despite DuBose’s attempts to be heard, James was elected New York State Attorney General in 2018, one of the most powerful law enforcement positions in the nation.
Under New York law, certain offenses—such as first-degree kidnapping—and various felony sex offenses are subject to extended or no limitations periods. Whether this matter is chargeable depends on the specific statutes and facts at issue.
The coexistence of the two documents—materially different in scope and attribution—raises significant questions about how James’s office handled the allegation.
Angel DuBose asks, “Why is Letitia James still in office? She should be behind bars!”
James’s spokesperson has previously denied wrongdoing.
MK10ART has done this painting of Letitia James below:
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
