A former colleague of the now-resigned Maine Office of New Americans director Tarlan Ahmadov has alleged that while working together at Catholic Charities Maine’s refugee services program, Ahmadov exhibited racism and “deep-seated bigotry” towards African immigrants and female employees.
Tarlan Ahmadov, who immigrated to the U.S. from Azerbaijan in 2003, worked as the state refugee coordinator with Catholic Charities Maine Refugee and Immigration Services from March 2017 to July 2022.
Ahmadov then moved into state government, working at the Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Employment Services — a position to which he was reinstated after he resigned from the Office of the New Americans on account of what he referred to as “personal health reasons” in early April.
In a Sunday post to his Facebook, Baba Ly, who worked with Ahmadov as assistant director at Catholic Charities Maine Refugee and Immigration Services, summarized the reporting of the Maine Wire and The Bollard regarding Ahmadov’s past controversial statements and actions.
Ly wrote that the trip to Azerbaijan, funded by the Azeri government, which Ahmadov facilitated and which included Democratic State Reps. Deqa Dhalac of South Portland, Mana Abdi is of Lewiston and Jill Duson of Portland (now a state senator representing Cumberland County), “raises serious ethical and legal questions.”
“These officials were photographed meeting with Azeri officials, including at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, a known hub for international lobbying,” Ly wrote. “The trip appears to have been funded or heavily facilitated by the Azerbaijani state, aligning with known practices of ‘caviar diplomacy’—the use of gifts, money, and luxury travel to influence foreign leaders and policymakers.”
“This creates a strong suggestion of foreign influence-peddling, especially as it intersects with U.S. discussions of ethnic conflicts and genocide denial,” he wrote.
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Ly went on to state that Ahmadov has “used his official roles in Maine—including as Director of the Office of New Americans—to promote pro-Azerbaijani narratives while denying or downplaying the Armenian Genocide or the suffering of Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Beyond the Azerbaijan junket, however, Ly described a pattern of racist and bigoted behavior by Ahmadov during his time at Catholic Charities Maine.
“As someone who worked alongside Ahmadov during his tenure at Catholic Charities of Maine, I witnessed firsthand the behavior that would later explode into public scandal,” Ly wrote.
“I served as the Assistant Director of Refugee and Immigration Services,” he explained. “From that vantage point, it became painfully clear that Ahmadov’s leadership was marked not by inclusion or compassion—but by deep-seated bigotry toward his colleagues (especially the female employees), racism toward Black African immigrants, and a shocking lack of professionalism and empathy toward those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.”
Ly claimed that these were not isolated incidents, but “part of a broader pattern.”
“Ahmadov surrounded himself with loyal enablers—individuals who benefitted from proximity to his power (including a few house negros…) and helped sanitize his public image, even as he routinely undermined the very communities he claimed to represent,” he wrote.
“His favoritism, racism, manipulation, and abuse of authority were not only tolerated, swept under the rug, but ultimately rewarded with promotions, public trust, and eventually leadership of the Office of New Americans,” he wrote.
“This story is not just about one man. It is about a systemic failure to protect public institutions from being exploited by individuals who weaponize identity and diversity language for personal, political, and even international agendas,” he added. “It reflects a political culture more concerned with optics than with ethical leadership—and one that punishes truth-tellers while promoting abusers.”
Ly also said that Ahmadov’s past “raises serious questions” about the elected officials who went with him on the trip to Azerbaijan.
“Whether knowingly or not, these lawmakers lent legitimacy to a regime accused of ethnic cleansing, and participated in the erasure of historic atrocities against Armenians, all while presenting their actions as harmless cultural exchange,” Ly wrote.
“Maine deserves leaders who serve all people—not just those who flatter the powerful or push foreign agendas. It is time to demand real accountability, ethical leadership, and a return to principled public service. Those who speak up should not be punished or sidelined—they should be heard, supported, and protected,” he concluded his post.
