Crime
New York City Mayor Eric Adams Faces Indictment for Alleged Corruption and Bribery
New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces charges of bribery, wire fraud, and soliciting illegal campaign donations, allegedly accepting funds and luxury travel benefits from Turkish businessmen. Denies wrongdoing. Potential 45-year prison sentence if convicted.
4 min read
Originally published by nationnews.com (opens in new tab)
Prosecutors have charged New York City Mayor Eric Adams with five counts of criminal offences, including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
The indictment unveiled on Thursday alleges Adams sought and accepted illegal campaign funds and over $100,000 (£75,000) in luxury travel benefits from Turkish businessmen and an official seeking to gain his influence.
Adams, 64, is a former police officer who was elected to lead the most populous US city nearly three years ago on a promise to be tough on crime.
The mayor has denied any wrongdoing and rejected calls for his resignation.
“I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defence before making any judgments,” Adams said at his press conference on Thursday.
“I follow the rules, I follow the federal law, I do not do anything that’s going to participate in illegal campaign activity.”
The news conference was regularly interrupted by New York residents who called Adams a “disgrace” to the city and asked for “justice”.
If convicted, the mayor could face up to 45 years in prison.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul – who has the power to remove the mayor from his post – said on Thursday she was reviewing the charges.
The 57-page indictment lays out an alleged scheme of corruption and bribery that spans a decade, beginning when he was the Brooklyn borough president. The corrupt activity continued after he became mayor, the documents alleged, and included extravagant international travel.
In one alleged text exchange included in the indictment, an Adams staffer and an airline manager discuss where the mayor should stay on a trip to Turkey.
After the airline manager suggests the Four Seasons, the staffer replies “it’s too expensive”.
“Why does he care? He is not going to pay,” the manager replies.
“Super,” the Adams staffer says.
Prosecutors claim that same staffer asked the airline manager to charge Adams an artificial price for his travel, to conceal the favourable treatment.
“His every step is being watched right now,” the staffer says, suggesting the mayor be charged $1,000 for a flight to Turkey. “Let it be somewhat real.”
At a Thursday press conference, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams alleged that the mayor developed relationships with foreign nationals to take in illegal funds for his 2021 campaign.
