Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) and Caicedo & Queliz LLC have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of former public defender Bernardo Caceres, alleging that he was falsely arrested, unlawfully detained, and defamed after being accused of attempting to bring narcotics into Rikers Island during a client visit.

According to the complaint, Caceres, then a public defender with Queens Defenders, traveled to Rikers Island on June 11, 2025, to meet with a client. Following the meeting, correction officials allegedly detained him and claimed that legal documents he brought for his client tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Based solely on a preliminary field test, Caceres was arrested and charged with promoting prison contraband.

The lawsuit alleges that the arrest occurred before any confirmatory laboratory testing was conducted, despite acknowledgments by both the New York City Department of Investigation and the Department of Correction that such field tests are too unreliable to serve as the basis for an arrest without laboratory confirmation.

According to the complaint, Caceres was detained for several hours, denied requests to contact his supervisors, photographed while handcuffed, and publicly accused of criminal conduct. Subsequent laboratory testing allegedly found that the documents contained neither THC nor any other narcotics, and prosecutors later declined to pursue the charge.

The lawsuit also names the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA) and its president, Benny Boscio. The complaint alleges that COBA published a press release describing Caceres as a “drug peddling attorney” and claiming that he had attempted to smuggle THC into Rikers Island. The lawsuit contends those statements were false and defamatory because laboratory testing ultimately determined that no narcotics were present.

“For years, I have stood beside people whose lives were upended by unproven accusations,” said Bernardo Caceres. “When I was arrested and publicly labeled a ‘drug peddling attorney,’ I trusted that the truth would eventually come out. Laboratory testing later found no narcotics and the charges were dropped, but the damage to my reputation and career did not simply disappear. This lawsuit is about accountability and ensuring that others are not subjected to the same treatment.”

“Given the widely known unreliability of the field tests, the corrections officers should have known better, the City should have known better, and Benny Boscio should have kept his mouth shut,” said Earl Ward, partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Instead, they intentionally and recklessly tarnished the reputation of a bright young lawyer.”

“Bernardo never should have been arrested in the first place. Instead of waiting for reliable test results, officials jumped to conclusions and put him in handcuffs. The New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association then seized the opportunity to smear a young public defender dedicated to serving his community. When the lab results came back, they showed there were no drugs at all. This lawsuit is about accountability for the people who rushed to judgment and making sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Albert Huber, Associate at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP

Filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit asserts claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, defamation, and violations of Caceres’s civil rights under federal, state, and New York City law. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages against the individual defendants, and other relief designed to hold the defendants accountable for the harms alleged in the complaint.

Press:

New York Daily News: “NYC lawyer wrongfully arrested for contraband drugs defamed by Rikers Island union: lawsuit”

Queens Daily Eagle: “Queens atty who was wrongfully arrested on Rikers sues city, officers’ union”

Law.com: “Attorney Who Was Cleared of Drug Smuggling Allegations Files Defamation Lawsuit Against NYC, Corrections Officers’ Union“