Where Is the Fingerprint Card? Luthmann Exposes Staten Island Justice System Cover-Up

Former Staten Island attorney and investigative journalist Richard Luthmann is demanding answers in what he calls one of the biggest legal frauds in New York history. In 2020, while still in federal custody, Luthmann entered a plea agreement involving a new charge filed by the Staten Island District Attorney using a Supplemental Criminal Information (SCI). But according to Luthmann, that charge was never valid—because he was never arrested or fingerprinted for it. And under New York law, that means the court lacked jurisdiction from the start.

“NO PRINTS, NO CASE,” Luthmann says.

Now, the fingerprint card for the 2020 charge is missing—and so is the public court docket for the case. After Luthmann filed a motion to dismiss based on the jurisdictional error, the docket was mysteriously wiped clean. “They deleted the docket. The entire case vanished,” Luthmann says, calling it a deliberate cover-up by DA Michael McMahon to avoid political embarrassment.

To make matters worse, Luthmann says NYPD Detective John Wilkinson, now under Internal Affairs investigation, admitted on tape that he could “get whatever I want” from Staten Island judges because McMahon was the “victim.” Luthmann claims officials tried to retroactively create a fingerprint record to fix the legal defect—but backed off once they knew he had the call on tape.

Now, Luthmann is asking the feds to step in. He wants the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a RICO investigation into what he calls a pattern of fraud, cover-ups, and weaponized prosecutions out of Staten Island. “This isn’t just a paperwork mistake,” he says. “This is lawfare—and it’s criminal.”

He’s also reaching out to national justice reform groups and Trump-aligned political allies, hoping the exposure will bring attention to broader systemic corruption in New York’s legal system.

As Luthmann puts it: “I’m innocent—and now I’ve got the proof.”