New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been hit with five federal charges – including wire fraud, bribery and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national – according to a sprawling 57-page federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York accuse the Democrat of seeking and accepting luxury international travel from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official for nearly a decade in exchange for official favors.
In 2017, when he was the Brooklyn Borough President, Adams accepted a heavily discounted stay at the St. Regis Istanbul owned by a businesswoman who “sought to ingratiate herself with Adams,” the indictment says.
Although the Bentley Suite for two nights would have cost approximately $7,000, Adams paid less than $600, the indictment says. He also did not disclose the trip as he was required to do as an elected official.
Adams also received more than $100,000 in free or discounted travel on Turkey’s national airline, free meals at high-end restaurants in Turkey and free “luxurious entertainment,” according to the indictment. Prosecutors say Adams kept fake paper trails and deleted messages in order to hide his misconduct – in one instance, assuring a co-conspirator he “always” deleted her messages.
“As Adams’ prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City’s mayor,” the indictment says. “Adams agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received.”
The alleged favors included an effort by Adams in Sept. 2021, after he became mayor, to pressure the New York City Fire Department into allowing a new Turkish consular building to open despite safety concerns, according to prosecutors.
The building would have failed an inspection, but an FDNY building safety official was told he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce to the mayor’s demands. And so, the building opened as requested by a Turkish official who had plied Adams with travel benefits and other gifts, the indictment says.
In addition to the free travel and hotel rooms, Adams received illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors, including the Turkish government official, the indictment says.
“Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark,” U.S Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference. “He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them.”
The Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The indictment was made public hours after the embattled mayor vowed to “fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit” – and a growing number of prominent politicians called for his resignation.
The details of the criminal case come at a time of extraordinary turmoil for the Adams administration. In the past two weeks alone, the city’s police commissioner, top lawyer and schools chancellor have announced their resignations.
The mayor has been dogged for months by questions about the four federal probes targeting his administration.
“We are not surprised. We expected this,” Adams said in a press conference shortly after the indictment was unsealed. “I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments.”
He said the charges amounted to an “unfortunate” and “painful” day. “But in spite of all of that, it’s a day that will finally reveal why for 10 months I have gone through this,” he said. “I look forward to defending myself and defending the people of this city.”
The indictment was unsealed hours after FBI agents searched Adams’ home, Gracie Mansion, early Thursday and seized his phone for the second time, according to his lawyer.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Wednesday became the highest profile politician to call for Adams to resign. Several others have followed, including city comptroller Brad Lander and state Sen. John Liu, D-Queens.
But the most powerful political figures in New York – Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul – did not immediately join the others in calling for Adams to step down.
In a statement early Thursday, a spokesman for Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, described the news reports as “concerning” but declined to comment further “until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement.”
Last November, FBI agents seized phones and an iPad belonging to Adams amid an ongoing investigation into his campaign fundraising. The investigation is believed to be focused in part on whether Adams’ mayoral campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
Then earlier this month, federal investigators working a separate probe searched homes and seized phones belonging to multiple top officials close to Adams. Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who was among those whose phone was seized, resigned on Sept. 12.
Authorities also seized the phone of Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former police officer who owns a nightclub security business. Federal investigators were looking into whether bars and clubs in midtown Manhattan and Queens paid James Caban to act as a police liaison and whether those clubs were then afforded special treatment by local precincts, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Adams administration has also been facing a public corruption investigation and another federal probe that resulted in a search of homes belonging to Adams’ former director of Asian affairs.
Adams has repeatedly said that his administration is cooperating in the investigations and he’s focused on his work as mayor.
In a videotaped statement he released late Wednesday, Adams remained defiant, saying any charges against him would be “entirely false, based on lies.”
“Make no mistake,” Adams added, “you elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”