Prosecutors: NYC Mayor Helped Clear Way For Skyscraper After Bribes From Turkish Officials
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing five charges following an indictment that came late on Wednesday night and was unsealed on Thursday. He is the first of the city's 110 mayors to face federal criminal charges while holding office.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, charged Adams with wire fraud, bribery, and receiving and soliciting campaign contributions from a foreign national, according to the 57-page indictment. In total, prosecutors claim Adams accepted and even sought out more than $100K in illegal benefits.
"As alleged, Mayor Adams abused his position as this City’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions," Williams said in a statement. "By allegedly taking improper and illegal benefits from foreign nationals—including to allow a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection—Adams put the interests of his benefactors, including a foreign official, above those of his constituents."
Adams has insisted that he is innocent throughout the investigation, which exploded into public view in November when the FBI seized cellphones from the mayor. They have also conducted raids of the houses of many of Adams' closest advisers, and the scandals that have engulfed his administration have already resulted in the resignations of the heads of the city's police department and schools, as well as his top legal adviser.
"The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months, the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing, this did not surprise us that we reached this day," Adams said Thursday at a news conference outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's residence. "I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments."
Adams accepted "straw" contributions, or those from donors who weren't using their own money to donate, that had been funneled through wealthy Turkish business people, according to the indictment. He then applied for public funding to match those donations, receiving more than $10M in what Williams called "stolen" public funds.
The indictment also accuses Adams of "seeking improper benefit" from straw donors, including "a senior official in the Turkish diplomatic establishment." That official allegedly arranged straw donations for Adams as well as free or discounted air travel, free hotel rooms, and free meals and entertainment for Adams and his companions.
The Turkish Embassy asked Adams to repay the favors in 2021, the indictment alleges. That resulted in Adams pressuring the Fire Department of New York City to allow the newly built Turkish Consulate, a 36-story, $300M skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan, to open without passing its fire inspection but in time for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit.
The building would have failed inspection, prosecutors wrote in the indictment, but the inspector and his boss were told that they would lose their jobs if they did not grant a permit in time for Erdogan's visit.
State Sen. Liz Krueger, who represents the part of Manhattan where the building sits, called for an immediate inspection of the tower Thursday.
"It is 36 stories tall and people’s lives may be at risk," Krueger said, according to The New York Times.
In 2020, Adams also solicited and received straw donations from a New York City-area construction company, previously identified as KSK Construction by nonprofit news site The City. Once Adams became mayor, the donor asked for the administration's help arranging "events celebrating the national heritage of" the businessman in question, according to the indictment.
The same businessman asked for Adams' help in resolving issues with the NYC Department of Buildings. Text messages from Adams referenced in the indictment show that Adams said he would "look into this" and that the businessman texted a week and a half later thanking Adams.
"Mayor, brother I want to thank you for your help. DOB issue partially resolved and they promised to expedite the process. Thank you, you have my continued support," the text message cited in the indictment says.
Adams allegedly began to secretly accept free travel to locations including Turkey and India as early as 2016, prosecutors said. He didn't disclose the trips as required by law, despite serving as Brooklyn borough president at the time of those trips.
The indictment has spurred a growing number of politicians and city leaders to call for Adams to resign, including city Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against Adams in the mayoral primary next year, and some longtime allies of Adams in the state Senate, Gothamist reported.
The charges filed against Adams come with a combined maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. He is expected to be arraigned Friday, The New York Times reports.
"From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city. My day to day will not change," Adams said at the press conference. "I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do."
