The Ballad of Staten Island’s Fearless DA: Michael “Stranger Danger” McMahon
When Free Speech Becomes a Felony, Campaign Corpses Vote, and Justice Sleeps Next to You in Bed
If Staten Island ever rebooted The Sopranos as a courtroom drama, they'd cast Michael E. McMahon in the lead. Not because he’s particularly talented, charismatic, or compelling—but because he’s got the one thing that matters most in Richmond County justice: unchecked power wrapped in a smile and a “D” next to his name.
Since 2016, McMahon has served as the District Attorney for Staten Island, but in practice, he’s more like the head of the Borough's Department of Personal Grudges and Gaslighting. His political résumé is impressive if you're into that kind of thing—former Congressman, City Councilman, law firm partner, lifelong Staten Islander, and now, President of the District Attorneys Association of New York, which is like being elected prom king at a prison warden convention.
But behind that mild-mannered exterior is a man whose sense of legal ethics is more flexible than a used car lot’s return policy.
Act I: Free Speech? That’s Felony Material in McMahon’s Staten Island
In July 2025, McMahon did what any red-blooded American prosecutor would do when receiving a mass Substack email from a known adversary: He panicked, claimed to fear for his life, and told the NYPD that the sender—journalist and former attorney Richard Luthmann—was a “stranger.”
A stranger.
You know, that guy you’ve been feuding with since 2015, the one who torpedoed your campaign with accusations of forged petition signatures, including the dearly departed. That “stranger.” It’s not perjury if you cross your fingers, right?
Luthmann's unforgivable crime? Forwarding a message written by someone else to 33,000 subscribers—none of whom, by the way, were named Michael McMahon. But McMahon, ever the creative thinker, spun that email into a Criminal Contempt in the First Degree charge—because why not escalate a bad Yelp review to terrorism?
Act II: Justice Wears a Robe—and Sleeps in the Same House
Meet the other half of the McMahon legal dynasty: Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon, a.k.a. “Judge Judy: The Staten Island Edition.” According to reports, Judge Judy (not to be confused with the one who actually delivers justice on TV) was knee-deep in a 2017 scandal involving allegedly steering sensitive warrants to prosecution-friendly judges—until the Office of Court Administration took the radical step of…reassigning her and shaving half a million bucks off her pension.
Meanwhile, Mike stayed silent, because launching an ethics investigation into your wife might cause some awkward dinner conversation. Or maybe he was just busy handpicking detectives who “get whatever they want from judges” because they “do McMahon’s bidding” (actual quote, caught on tape).
Act III: The Campaign That Voted from Beyond the Grave
Rewind to 2015. McMahon was running for DA and needed signatures to get on the ballot. Enter Staten Island’s undead.
According to allegations from (you guessed it) Luthmann, McMahon’s petitions included the names of people who were either dead, nonexistent, or—worse—registered Republicans. But despite multiple calls for investigation, nothing stuck. Because apparently, in Staten Island, forging voter petitions is just “vintage campaigning.”
Act IV: The Real Crime Family
Some families pass down heirlooms. Others pass down judicial control over an entire borough.
In the McMahon household, they do both.
With Michael running prosecutions and Judith wielding the gavel, the McMahons became Staten Island’s legal power couple. Kind of like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, if Beyoncé issued arrest warrants and Jay-Z rigged grand juries.
Even NYPD Detective John Wilkinson, caught on a recorded line, bragged about getting warrants from judges on command—because of McMahon. This triggered an Internal Affairs investigation (IAB #2025-24036), because apparently there’s still some corner of the NYPD that raises an eyebrow when the law gets treated like a Cracker Jack prize.
Closing Argument: Stranger Danger or Just Dangerous?
Here’s the kicker: McMahon called Luthmann a stranger while his office had been subscribed to Luthmann’s newsletter since June. He’d read over 80 of his emails. At this point, even your ex reads you less obsessively.
But let’s give the DA some credit. He’s managed to survive campaign fraud allegations, a judicial scandal in his own bedroom, and a credibility crisis over a mass email—without being indicted once. That’s not legal skill. That’s Staten Island politics.
Final Thought
So the next time you wonder how someone ends up with the power to ruin lives over a newsletter, just remember: It helps if you’re married to a judge, can’t remember old enemies, and think the First Amendment comes with an asterisk.
Michael E. McMahon: Staten Island’s top lawman—unless, of course, you forward an email. Then you’re just a felon with a mailing list.