The head honcho of the city’s election board is clinging to his six-figure job two months after a watchdog agency recommended he be fired over claims he creeped on female staffers — allegedly asking one “how young is too young” for an older man to date a younger woman.
Board of Elections Executive Director Michael Ryan — who pulled in $289,662 last year according to city records — was sent to sensitivity training and suspended without pay for three weeks despite a scathing report by the Department of Investigation took the “unusual step” of recommending he get canned.
Ryan, who’s now on a year probation, released a statement apologizing to his family and to anyone he “unintentionally offended” after the DOI probe.
“While I dispute these allegations and disagree with the report’s conclusion, I accept the determination of the Commissioners in the best interest of the Agency,” read the statement.
The probe was launched after a female staffer resigned and allegedly sought therapy due to Ryan’s harassment over a four-month period last year. During the months-long investigation another female employee came forward with similar allegations, officials said.
The first woman complained Ryan puckered his lips at her and tried to touch her face, making her “extremely uncomfortable,” according to the report, Post obtained through a request under the state Freedom of Information Law and first reported on by The City.
Ryan — who was 58 at the time — was allegedly in his office with the woman when he asked “how young is too young” for an older man to date a younger woman, according to the allegations. Michael Corbett, the BOE’s administrative manager, was allegedly present in Ryan’s office and suggested that the standard is “half your age plus seven” — exactly the age of the woman, according to the report.
Ryan also allegedly said to the woman in his office that day, “(If) a young woman wants me, I know why she wants me,” according to the report.
The woman told investigators during the encounter with the men she wanted to “throw up in (her) mouth” and that Ryan’s treatment of her was “like grooming,” according to the report.
DOI also recommended Corbett face disciplinary action for his comments, but stopped short of recommending his termination.
Both women claimed Ryan told insensitive stories and referenced ethnic stereotypes about them, according to the report.
The first woman, who is Hispanic, said Ryan also made jokes to her about not trusting Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, according to the report.
The second woman, who is of South Asian descent, told DOI investigators Ryan asked her “What kind of Indian are you? — the ‘ting ting’ kind?” and told her Indians are “non-confrontational,” according to the report.
She also said she watched Ryan make a cringey joke to a visiting Department of Justice lawyer who is Sikh about Ryan’s son thinking a bearded Sikh gas station attendant looked like Santa Claus, according to the report.
Ryan denied or said he did not remember the incidents outlined in the accusations even though they were corroborated by other witnesses, the report said.
The BOE released a statement on X from its President Rodney Pepe-Souvenir and Secretary Frederic Umane saying in part: “Mr. Ryan has expressed his regrets for the overall situation and is eager to set a better example to all staff moving forward.”
It’s not the first time the elections board was embroiled in claims of misconduct.
In 2022, the top BOE lawyer Steve Richman pleaded guilty to abusing his office by harassing an intern and another subordinate, allegedly giving them physical exams that included measuring body parts and groping them for personal pleasure.
After the probe into Ryan, the DOI made six recommendations including tell the elections board it should require regular harassment training and hire an Equal Employment Opportunity officer to review and evaluate complaints and conduct investigations.
