A federal criminal investigation is ongoing into at least one of Eric Adams’ top advisers — even as the former mayor is now out of office, with his past criminal charges dropped by the feds.
Sources familiar with the matter say prosecutors in the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office are leading the investigation into Frank Carone and his business dealings.
Carone, an attorney and Brooklyn Democratic power broker, was an instrumental figure in Adams’ ascent to City Hall and his departure four years later.
Carone chaired Adams’ 2021 and 2025 campaigns for mayor and served as chief of staff in Adams’ City Hall for a year before leaving to set up a lucrative consulting business. He has remained involved in Adams’ post-mayoralty career moves including, reportedly, a controversial city-branded cryptocurrency sale.
The scope of the investigation is unclear.
When reached by NBC New York on Friday, Carone said he was unaware of any federal investigation. He said he had not been contacted by law enforcement nor was he aware of any associates being contacted in connection with an investigation into him.
Saturday, after the New York Times first reported the ongoing investigation, Carone posted on X calling any potential accusations “baseless” and suggesting any scrutiny was a result of his political associations, success and “stereotypical assumptions” as “an Italian American who grew up in the streets of Canarsie and to this day still speaks with a full Brooklyn accent.”
Several law enforcement agencies declined to comment, including the EDNY, FBI, DOI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
No charges have been filed against Carone. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s offices declined comment.
Past scrutiny of Carone has included a federal investigation first reported by NBC New York into his financial ties to a Williamsburg monsignor who had loaned parish money to Carone without the knowledge of the Brooklyn Diocese. Carone insisted he had simply invested parish money, delivering a high return.
Other members of the former Adams administration continue to face ongoing scrutiny over a range of questions, according to sources familiar, about commercial real estate leases arranged with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and whether Adams’ other top advisor Ingrid Lewis Martin accepted bribes in exchange for government favors.
Lewis Martin’s case is ongoing in state court. She has pleaded not guilty.