{"id":724013,"date":"2026-06-24T23:24:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/724013\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:24:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:24:22","slug":"ex-chief-of-staff-to-former-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-charged-with-bribery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/724013\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with bribery"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams<\/a> was arrested Wednesday in a federal bribery case about a lucrative migrant shelter contract, the latest sign that prosecutors continue to scrutinize Adams\u2019 inner circle months after the scandal-bruised Democrat left office.<\/p>\n

The charges against Frank Carone are the latest in a string of corruption allegations<\/a> leveled at the former mayor \u2014 who was himself indicted<\/a> on bribery and other charges that were later dismissed<\/a> \u2014 and key aides. Separately, federal authorities searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders Wednesday in connection with a different bribery investigation.<\/p>\n

Adams was not accused of wrongdoing in Carone\u2019s indictment. It alleges the ex-chief of staff exploited his position to get more than $100,000 in payoffs for steering a migrant shelter contract to a hotel that social service officials had deemed unsuitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrank Carone was entrusted to run our city government and instead put his own wealth and status above duty,\u201d Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Winik told a court.<\/p>\n

Carone and his brother, Anthony Carone; hotel owner Yan Po Zhu, and hotel employee Crystal Chen pleaded not guilty to various charges. The brothers sat across from each other at a defense table, where Anthony Carone rubbed his face and Frank Carone appeared to read along during the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Frank Carone\u2019s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said outside court that the case was based on \u201cassumption after assumption after assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not one fact that indicates Frank Carone did anything specific to influence anything in our government,\u201d Aidala said. The other defendants and their attorneys declined to comment. <\/p>\n

Frank Carone and the Sabrina Carpenter church video<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 3 others charged in federal bribery probe\n <\/p>\n

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports the chief of staff for former New York City Mayor Eric Adams is arrested in a federal bribery probe.<\/p>\n

Carone, a former Brooklyn Democratic Party lawyer and longtime political power broker, is widely credited as one of the architects of Adams\u2019 political rise. He also drew attention for his financial dealings with a Roman Catholic priest<\/a> who let pop star Sabrina Carpenter film scenes for a provocative music video<\/a> in a church.<\/p>\n

Federal investigators later subpoenaed the church. \u201cThey found nothing,\u201d Aidala said Wednesday, contending that the government first targeted Carone, then looked for a case.<\/p>\n

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Carone played a key role in Adams\u2019 2021 mayoral campaign, was chief of staff in 2022, then left and formed a political consulting firm.<\/p>\n

He \u201cdedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York,\u201d Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Indictment focuses on how the hotel became a shelter<\/p>\n

Starting in 2022, the city scrambled to expand its shelter capacity<\/a> amid an influx of migrants. Zhu\u2019s hotel got $6.8 million to shelter some of the new arrivals, though the city\u2019s Social Services Department had repeatedly rejected the facility, which was small and in a Queens neighborhood where residents objected to more shelters, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said in court papers that Frank Carone accepted around $120,000 in bribes from Zhu and Chen to intercede on the hotel\u2019s behalf. The money was passed through Anthony Carone\u2019s law firm, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n

In a September 2022 text message, Zhu asked Frank Carone for help getting the hotel an immediate one-year contract, according to the indictment. It said Carone replied by asking for the address, and Zhu gave it, adding: \u201cThank you my big guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December 2023, Zhu texted Carone: \u201cI asked my partners to pay you for a year,\u201d according to the document. Carone, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, deleted the message after learning he was under investigation, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo\/Ted S. Warren, File)<\/p>\n

The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo\/Ted S. Warren, File)<\/p>\n

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Zhu \u201cis anxious to establish his innocence,\u201d lawyer Stephen Scaring said before the arraignments. All four defendants later were released on bond, ranging from $100,000 for Chen to $8 million for Zhu.<\/p>\n

Police officials\u2019 homes searched in unrelated probe<\/p>\n

Separately Wednesday, the FBI and the NYPD executed search warrants at the homes of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, and federal agents also searched former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey\u2019s home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the searches were part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Maddrey.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate response to an inquiry to Maddrey\u2019s attorney. Attorney information for Sheppard and McCarthy was not immediately available.<\/p>\n

There is no public indication of any arrests as part of those searches.<\/p>\n

They were not related to Frank Carone\u2019s arrest, according to another person familiar with the matter who also was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

Once the NYPD\u2019s highest-ranking uniformed officer, Maddrey resigned<\/a> in 2024 over allegations that he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay. Maddrey denied the claims<\/a> of a quid pro quo.<\/p>\n

Adams was indicted<\/a> in 2024 on charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others in exchange for political favors. The case was tossed<\/a> by federal Justice Department leaders who said it was distracting Adams from assisting in Republican President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown. Adams has denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

After skipping last year\u2019s Democratic primary, Adams mounted but eventually abandoned<\/a> an independent campaign for a second term.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams was arrested Wednesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,311388,66978,22047,12,10767,311387,793,790,3073,311389,311393,2005,1999,3,111,8248,311392,311391,311390,66979,8638,795,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-724013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-anthony-carone","tag-arthur-l-aidala","tag-bribery","tag-donald-trump","tag-eric-adams","tag-frank-carone","tag-general-news","tag-immigration","tag-indictments","tag-james-mccarthy","tag-jeffrey-maddrey","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-sabrina-carpenter","tag-sarah-winik","tag-stephen-scaring","tag-tarik-sheppard","tag-todd-shapiro","tag-u-s-democratic-party","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}