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MANHATTAN (CN) — Federal prosecutors in New York City on Thursday morning unsealed a five-count criminal indictment against sitting Mayor Eric Adams in connection with foreign contributions to the Brooklyn Democrat’s mayoral campaigns, “including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.”
Adams, a first-term Democrat and former NYPD captain, is charged in the indictment on counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery; soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals; wire fraud; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and bribery.
The indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday evening, makes Adams the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office. He has not surrendered himself for arraignment on the charges.
Adams, 64, is accused in the indictment of a long-running conspiracy in which he is said to have solicited, accepted and concealed luxury perks and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen who sought to purchase political favors from him before and after he was elected in 2021.
Prosecutors say Adams funneled those illegal foreign campaign donations through straw donors in the U.S., including New York City-area construction companies, to circumvent federal election laws, during fundraising for his 2021 mayoral bid and his upcoming 2025 reelection campaign.
“The conduct alleged in the indictment — the foreign money, the corporate money, the bribery, the years of concealment — is a grave breach of public trust,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said at a news conference Thursday.
Williams told reporters illegal campaign contributions helped net Adams $10 million in matching public funds from a municipal program that matches small-dollar contributions from New York City residents.
According to prosecutors, Adams stepped in to help the government of Turkey get city approval to open a 36-story Manhattan skyscraper housing the Turkish Consulate General in 2021, despite concerns about the tower’s fire safety systems.
The Turkevi Center opened near the United Nations on Sept. 21, 2021, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Some two months earlier, the city’s fire department had rejected the fire-protection plan for the building, built to house Turkey’s diplomatic operations and mission to the United Nations, because it hadn’t passed inspection.
Prosecutors say in the indictment that Adams pressured Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro after Turkey’s consul general reached out to Adams about the status of the tower’s occupancy permit in the days leading up to Erdoğan’s visit.
“Because of Adams’ pressure on the FDNY, the FDNY official responsible for the FDNY’s assessment of the skyscraper’s fire safety was told that he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce, and, after Adams intervened, the skyscraper opened as requested by the Turkish official," prosecutors wrote.
Adams, who is up for reelection next year, released a prerecorded video message late Wednesday, vowing to stay in office and decrying any charges against him as “entirely false” and “based on lies.”
“I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit,” he said. “If I’m charged, I know I’m innocent.”
Adams has hired Alex Spiro — a prolific celebrity lawyer who has previously represented Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin — as he faces the criminal indictment. He previously retained Wilmer Hale attorney Boyd Johnson, a former deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
FBI agents stopped Adams in November as he was leaving a public event and took his electronic devices, including phones and an iPad. The seizure came four days after agents searched the home of the lead fundraiser for his 2021 mayoral campaign, Briana Suggs.
The search of Suggs’ home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, prompted the mayor to cancel a planned trip to meet with White House officials in Washington and instead return to New York.
At the time, Adams told reporters he didn’t have anything to fear from that investigation. “It would really shock me if someone that was hired by my campaign did something that’s inappropriate,” he said in November 2023.
Prosecutors accused Adams and his staffers of taking efforts to conceal their criminal conduct through fabrication of a bogus paper trail, false denials and obfuscation
An unidentified, uncharged female co-conspirator referenced in the indictment is purported to have gone to the bathroom during a voluntary interview with the FBI, where she deleted the encrypted messaging applications she had used to communicate with Adams and the other foreign businessmen.
The count of wire fraud carries a maximum 20-year sentence; the bribery count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The other counts each have a five-year maximum penalty.
A spokesperson for Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statement late Wednesday that said, “Governor Hochul is aware of these concerning news reports and is monitoring the situation. It would be premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement.”
Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive Democrat who is challenging Adams in next year’s primary, called on the mayor to resign, “so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands.”
“Mayor Adams, like all New Yorkers, deserves due process, the presumption of innocence, and his day in court,” he wrote in a post on X Wednesday night. “However, it is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges will require a significant amount of the time and attention needed to govern this great city.”
If Adams were to resign, he would be temporarily replaced by the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who would then schedule a special election.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, a Joe Biden appointee.
In July 2023, the Manhattan district attorney separately charged six men, including a former NYPD inspector, in connection to a supposed scheme by construction contractors to illegally structure campaign contributions so that Adams’ 2021 campaign could maximize its advantage from the New York City Matching Funds Program.
Dwayne Montgomery, a former police colleague of Adams, ultimately pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge, pursuant to a plea agreementwhere he agreed to complete 200 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine. Four other co-defendants in that case also reached plea deals or a deferred prosecution agreement.
The former city buildings commissioner under Adams, Eric Ulrich, was also charged in September 2023 for using his position to dole out favors, including access to the mayor, in exchange for cash and other bribes.
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