Empire State Review Team 
A federal lawsuit filed on May 16, 2025, alleges that Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Amanda Goun abused her position to orchestrate the false arrest of her estranged husband, Joseph Goldstein, a New York Times health-care reporter, amid a contentious custody battle. The complaint claims Goun conspired with colleagues in the Manhattan DA’s Office and NYPD officers to manufacture assault and child-abuse charges against Goldstein. After the case was transferred to The Bronx to avoid conflicts of interest, all criminal charges and a related child-abuse probe were dropped. Goldstein’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and the return of allegedly stolen property.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, names Assistant District Attorneys Kelly Keating and Lawrence Newman, as well as NYPD Detective Rachel Lutz and Officer Carmen Fabian, as co-defendants. The complaint alleges that Goun and her colleagues conspired to fabricate charges against Goldstein following an October 2022 domestic dispute. According to the suit, Goun initially reported to responding officers that Goldstein had slammed a door on her arm. However, after consulting with Newman, she allegedly altered her account to claim she had fallen and sustained injuries, leading to felony assault charges against Goldstein.
Goldstein’s legal ordeal included an eight-month period during which he was barred from seeing his children due to an order of protection. The lawsuit asserts that Goun coached their children to provide false statements supporting the abuse allegations. Eventually, the case was transferred to The Bronx to avoid conflicts of interest, and all criminal charges and a related child-abuse probe were dropped. The city’s Administration for Children’s Services deemed the child-abuse complaints unfounded.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and the return of property that Goldstein claims Goun took from him. Goun and Keating remain employed at the Manhattan DA’s Office, while Newman now works for the Brooklyn DA’s Office. The Manhattan DA’s Office has referred the matter to the city’s Law Department, and the NYPD has not commented on the allegations.
This case raises significant concerns about potential abuses of power within the legal system, particularly when personal relationships intersect with professional responsibilities. The outcome of this lawsuit may have broader implications for how allegations of misconduct are addressed within prosecutorial and law enforcement agencies.
