Mayor Adams has been charged in an indictment following a federal corruption investigation into his campaign’s ties to foreign governments, multiple sources told the Daily News late Wednesday.
The exact charges against Adams weren’t immediately known, but two sources familiar with the matter said they stem from an investigation by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office that has scrutinized allegations that Turkey’s government funneled illegal donations into Adams’ 2021 campaign coffers. Earlier this month, it was revealed that probe is also looking at communications between Adams and the governments of five other foreign countries.
One of the sources told The News the charges against Adams — which could be unsealed as early as Thursday by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams — involve allegations that pertain to his interactions with foreign governments. Three sources familiar with the matter said other individuals, including prominent advisers to the mayor, are expected to be named in the indictment as having participated in the alleged wrongdoing.
An indictment would make Adams the first New York City mayor in the modern era to face criminal charges while in office and comes as his administration is reeling from the news of additional investigations and a series of high-profile resignations. The indictment, which remained sealed late Wednesday after being cleared by a federal grand jury, was first reported by the New York Times.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit,” Adams said in a statement.
In a recorded video statement released later Wednesday, Adams made clear he has no intention of stepping down, even as his challengers in next year’s mayoral election seized on Wednesday’s news to call for his resignation. He called the charges “entirely false, based on lies” and referenced his criticism of the Biden White House’s handling of the migrant crisis.
“I can also understand how everyday New Yorkers would be concerned that I cannot do my job while I face accusations,” he said. “But I have been facing these lies for months, since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started — yet the city has continued to improve. Make no mistake: you elected me to lead this city — and lead it I will.”
A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. The exact timing of Adams’ surrender on the charges wasn’t clear, but sources say it may not happen until early next week.
The investigation related to potential Turkish influence exploded into public view in November 2023 when federal agents searched Adams’ fundraiser Brianna Suggs’ Brooklyn brownstone. According to a search warrant reported by the New York Times at the time, the raid on Suggs’ home in Crown Heights was part of a federal public corruption investigation into whether Adams’ 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and a Brooklyn construction firm to funnel foreign cash into the campaign’s coffers via straw donors.
The warrant, seeking troves of financial records, documents related to contributions to Adams’ 2021 campaign and travel logs, reportedly sought evidence of a conspiracy to steal federal funds, make illegal campaign donations with foreign money and fraud, and whether Adams’ campaign secured perks for Turkish government officials and executives at the construction company, a Williamsburg-based outfit called KSK Construction Group.
Adams had traveled to Washington the day of the Suggs raid to meet with White House officials about the city’s migrant crisis — but turned back and canceled all his meetings after the news broke. Four days later, the feds stopped him on the street and seized his phones.
Among the issues reportedly under investigation was whether Adams had pressured the FDNY to fast-track inspections for a new Turkish consulate and had accepted free flights and upgrades from Turkish Airlines, The News previously reported. It was unclear if the charges were related to either of those issues.
Earlier this week, it was also revealed that the feds have subpoenaed information about interactions between Adams, his campaign and City Hall and five additional foreign counties, including Israel, Qatar and China, as part of the probe scrutinizing his Turkey ties.
City Hall was rocked by a new wave of investigations just weeks ago when federal investigators searched the homes of high-ranking officials in Adams’ administration, including former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, and seized electronics from them as well as top City Hall adviser Tim Pearson. The flurry of federal law enforcement activity kicked off Sept. 4 when FBI agents searches the homes of Sheena Wright, Adams’ first deputy mayor, and Philip Banks, his deputy mayor for public safety, among others.
Since those raids, several top members of the administration have resigned, including Caban, Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
The investigations that prompted the latest raids, sources say, are looking at the possibility of influence peddling, unregistered lobbying and kickbacks on city contracts.
One focus, sources said, is the former police commissioner’s brother, James Caban, and the question of whether he was squeezing nightlife venues for promises of preferential treatment by the NYPD. His lawyer has said he did nothing wrong.
Another line of inquiry has focused on Terence Banks, brother of David and Phil Banks, who runs a consulting company with clients that did business with City Hall.
As part of the probe into possible influence peddling involving nightclubs and James Caban, police officers have received subpoenas directing them to appear this week before a federal grand jury at 500 Pearl St. and bring with them any communication with James Caban, according to a source who has seen one of the subpoenas.
Since it first emerged late last year that Adams and his campaign were under scrutiny by the feds, the mayor has been represented mainly by Brendan McGuire, a former federal prosecutor who served as his first chief counsel at City Hall until his resignation in summer 2023.
But late Wednesday, Alex Spiro, a celebrity attorney known for representing Elon Musk and Jay-Z, confirmed via an assistant that he’s representing the mayor in the federal matter. The assistant wouldn’t say whether McGuire is still representing the mayor, too, and neither Spiro nor McGuire returned requests for comment.
Spiro is separately also representing the mayor against a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting a co-worker more than three decades ago while he was a city transit cop — an accusation he has vigorously denied.
With Graham Rayman
