Brooklyn’s embattled Democratic establishment defied a court order by moving ahead with the installation of its new leader, who has been accused in a deed-theft lawsuit and had close ties to a judge who resigned after facing criminal charges, The Post has learned.
Brooklyn Democratic officials celebrated late Sunday night after Nikki Lucas, an assemblywoman representing the 60th District and the handpicked successor to outgoing chairwoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn, was elected chair of the Kings County Democratic Party.
The vote proceeded despite a judge’s order, prompting a wave of legal filings from a rival faction of Democrats seeking to overhaul the party’s leadership.
A state Supreme Court justice sought early last week to block the leadership election as the party and its reform wing continued their legal battle over control of the largest Democratic county organization in the nation.
The judge is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether Bichotte-Hermelyn’s last-minute political maneuvering — including Lucas’ elevation as her successor — will be allowed to stand.
But The Post found that the new party chair, at least for now, was among eight defendants named in a 2021 deed-theft lawsuit. The suit alleged that a Southern Baptist church in East New York, valued at $3.4 million, had been transferred without payment, according to court records.
Court records show Lucas was represented by former Judge Ed King, who was then practicing law and was charged by federal prosecutors in May in connection with an alleged $5 million escrow scheme.
Lucas and King had known each other for years, and she helped him win his judicial election. Insiders recalled that Lucas was one of only a few people King acknowledged in his 2022 victory speech.
King was also named on the property deed and served as the attorney for the buyers, the filings show.
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A judge ultimately ruled in favor of the church’s trustees and voided the sale. The case was later placed on hold after one of the defendants died.
In a separate federal criminal case, King is accused of misleading investors about his ability to return $6.5 million sent to his bank account as “proof of liquidity.” He has returned only $1.5 million of the original funds, according to the allegations. The case forced him to resign last year.
Bichotte-Hermelyn announced last week that she would not seek reelection and would relinquish her position as party chair.
The longtime Brooklyn Democrat appeared to lose her grip on the Kings County party months earlier, after federal agents raided her home as part of an investigation whose details remain unknown.
A Post investigation also reported that the Brooklyn Democratic machine collected at least $190,000 in questionable contributions connected to judicial races.
Despite those setbacks, Bichotte-Hermelyn worked aggressively to secure support for Lucas. Insiders said she had been making calls since late last week to assemble a new executive board, even after a judge ordered her and her allies to step aside.
Her defiance resulted in her being served with a contempt order as she left court Tuesday.
“I just got served with a contempt order signed by a Judge for invoking my constitutional rights. Punished for the 5th. Ignored for the 14th. Erased for the 13th #Justice is on Life Support—and somebody’s pulling the plug,” Bichotte-Hermelyn wrote on X alongside a selfie showing the court order.
A hearing scheduled for Oct. 19 will determine whether Brooklyn’s Democratic leaders should face penalties over the last-minute vote to install new party leadership.
Lucas and King did not respond to requests for comment.
