NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 In his four years as New York mayor, Eric Adams\u2019 administration was roiled by corruption probes that led to early-morning FBI searches, resignations of top officials and indictments that alleged a rampant culture of pay-to-play politics at the highest levels of City Hall. <\/p>\n
Even with Adams now far from elected office<\/a> and facing no charges himself, that saga continues.<\/p>\n On Wednesday his former chief of staff<\/a>, Frank Carone, was arrested on federal charges<\/a> alleging that he accepted $120,000 in bribes in exchange for steering a multimillion-dollar migrant shelter contract to a Queens hotel. Three others, including Carone\u2019s brother, were also indicted. All have pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n Another of Adams\u2019 closest allies, Ingrid Lewis-Martin<\/a>, is still fighting separate bribery charges, which include allegations that she exchanged political favors for cash, diamond earrings and a speaking role on a TV show.<\/p>\n And Adams himself was indicted on bribery charges in 2024, accused of taking illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and providing political favors to them in return. Adams, a Democrat, denied any wrongdoing and those charges were later dropped at the behest of the Trump administration. <\/p>\n Here is a look at some of the criminal investigations that cast a pall over the nation\u2019s largest city during Adams\u2019 tumultuous tenure and its aftermath:<\/p>\n Corruption probe launched early in Adams\u2019 mayoral term<\/p>\n Soon after Adams took office in January 2022, federal agents quietly began a corruption investigation into his campaign. It spilled into public view in the fall of 2023, when authorities seized his phones<\/a> as he was leaving an event. A year later, federal prosecutors brought fraud and bribery charges<\/a> against him.<\/p>\n The indictment accused Adams of allowing Turkish officials and other businesspeople to buy his influence with illegal campaign contributions and steep discounts on overseas trips. Among the favors he allegedly provided in return was accelerating the opening of Turkey\u2019s diplomatic building in New York, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n Adams denied wrongdoing and insisted, without evidence, that the Biden administration had politically targeted<\/a> his administration because of his criticism of its immigration policy.<\/p>\n But soon after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025, Justice Department leadership ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop the case<\/a>, arguing that it was hindering the mayor\u2019s ability to assist Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n The investigation severely wounded Adams\u2019 efforts last year to seek reelection. He skipped the Democratic primary and got on the ballot as an independent, but eventually ended his campaign<\/a> early.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire: Top adviser accused of trading influence for diamond earrings and a TV show cameo<\/p>\n As former chief adviser, Lewis-Martin was perhaps the only city official with more direct access to Adams than Carone. <\/p>\n In 2024 she too was indicted<\/a> for allegedly trading her influence for bribes worth more than $100,000 from those with business before the city. Lewis-Martin has denied wrongdoing. <\/p>\n In one instance, prosecutors said, Lewis-Martin agreed to quash a planned bike lane near a Brooklyn soundstage at the request of the studio\u2019s owners in exchange for perks including a promised role on the police drama \u201cBlue Bloods.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate scheme, prosecutors said, she accepted diamond earrings<\/a> and cash from two real estate developers and then helped to speed up approvals of their projects, at times overriding safety concerns from city regulators. <\/p>\n Her attorney Arthur Aidala \u2014 who is also representing Carone \u2014 has said she was simply helping constituents cut through the city\u2019s thick red tape.<\/p>\n The case against Lewis-Martin was brought by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday. <\/p>\n Other allies resigned but have faced no charges <\/p>\n Many who departed Adams\u2019 administration under a cloud of scandal \u2014 often after having their devices seized and homes searched by federal agents \u2014 have not faced charges. <\/p>\n Among them: an adviser to the Chinese community who handed a potato chip bag full of cash<\/a> to a reporter after an Adams campaign event; the former police commissioner, whose twin brother was accused of extortion<\/a> by a Brooklyn bar owner; and Adams\u2019 schools chancellor and deputy mayor, also brothers, whose third brother ran a consulting firm<\/a> that connected clients with city officials. <\/p>\n Each has denied wrongdoing, and none has been charged with a crime. <\/p>\n Federal authorities have declined to disclose the purpose of their searches and whether any of the investigations remain active. <\/p>\n Some low-level associates pleaded guilty to charges involving illegal campaign funds <\/p>\n Even after the charges against Adams were dropped, prosecutors continued to pursue cases against some of the lower-level operatives involved in the indictment. <\/p>\n
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