Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with bribery, conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, according to a federal investigation. explosive federal indictment The case was opened Thursday by Manhattan prosecutors.
The five-separate indictment — the first against a sitting New York City mayor — details for the first time the allegations against Hizzoner after he was removed from office. Indicted by grand jury The case is part of a long-running federal investigation that also involves several of his closest aides and assistants.
The indictment alleges that “in 2014, defendant Eric Adams became Brooklyn Borough President. Thereafter, for nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improperly valued benefits, such as luxury international travel, from wealthy foreign businessmen and at least one Turkish government official who were trying to exert influence over him.”
Before the indictment was filed, sources had revealed that the charges were possibly linked to those of the Turkish government Adams' mayoral campaign was funded illegally In turn, clearance was sought from the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan.
“Defendant Eric Adams solicited and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of “nominees” or “straw,” meaning that actual contributors gave their money through nominal donors who falsely certified that they were contributing their own money,” the indictment states.
“By making their contributions to Adams through U.S.-based straw donors, Adams' foreign contributors defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on U.S. elections.”
It's not yet clear when Adams will appear in court following the indictment. Sources previously told The Post he wasn't expected to appear in court until early next week.
The court filing came just before U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams was scheduled to hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. to announce “significant public corruption allegations.”
Meanwhile, about a dozen FBI agents were arrested. Spotted in droves at Adams' mayoral homeThe incident occurred Thursday at Gracie Mansion just hours before the indictment was made public.
Adams' attorney later called the FBI search and heavy law enforcement presence a “farce,” saying federal authorities had come to take one of the mayor's phones — months after seizing several of his devices during the investigation.
“Federal agents showed up at Gracie Mansion this morning in an attempt to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams' phone (again),” attorney Alex Spiro said in a statement.
“He has not been arrested and is waiting for his day in court. They send a dozen agents to answer one phone, when we would have gladly turned him away.”
Eric Adams indicted: Live updates after NYC mayor indicted
Hizzoner, meanwhile, vowed late Wednesday to stay in office despite growing calls for his resignation — insisting that all allegations against him are “completely false and based on lies.”
He also claimed he was being targeted for criticizing the Harris-Biden administration's handling of the migration crisis that has devastated the Big Apple.
“I always knew that if I stood up for all of you, I would be targeted — and I have been,” the rebel Adams said. “I will fight these injustices with all my might and my soul.”
The landmark indictment is the extraordinary culmination of weeks of searches, subpoenas and resignations of top City Hall officials that have pushed the Adams administration toward crisis.
The federal investigation into Adams and his administration first became public in November of the previous year, when The FBI raided Suggs' Brooklyn home,
The raids looked for evidence of bribes paid to Adams' mayoral campaign by the Turkish government and Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group.
A few days later, the federal government Mayor's phone and iPad confiscated He died while leaving an event on the streets of Manhattan.
Stay up to date with NYP's coverage of Mayor Eric Adam's impeachment
Meanwhile, Greco, a top aide to Adams, Raid on a Bronx home The case was taken up by FBI agents in February, though it was unclear at the time whether it was linked to the Turkish investigation.
Over the summer, federal prosecutors also sent subpoenas to Adams, his campaign arm and City Hall seeking information about the mayor’s schedule, his foreign trips and possible ties to the Turkish government.
Then, on Sept. 4, federal investigators seized electronic equipment — inside and outside City Hall — from the city’s police commissioner, schools chancellor, deputy mayor for public safety, first deputy mayor and other Adams confidants.
However, it was unclear at the time whether the subpoenas, targeting top administration officials and Adams confidants, were connected to the mayor's recent indictment or to the ongoing federal investigation.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who are behind multiple investigations, have long remained mum about any potential charges and have not said how, if at all, the investigations are connected to one another.
To date no one else has been accused of any wrongdoing in the investigation.
