The chair of the city Campaign Finance Board last week quietly shot down Mayor Eric Adams’ request for a do-over on the board’s decision to deny his campaign millions of dollars in public matching funds for his re-election, records obtained by THE CITY reveal.
Chair Frederick Schaffer denied Adams’ appeal of the board’s decision last month to declare the Adams campaign in noncompliance due to the mayor’s then-pending indictment on campaign finance fraud charges and his repeated failure to answer the board’s inquiries about suspect campaign contributions and spending.
Last week Adams appealed that initial denial, stating that the board no longer had reason to reject his request because President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice had dismissed the indictment, which had charged him with soliciting and accepting illegal straw donations in his bid to obtain matching funds for his 2021 campaign.
In an email sent late last Friday, the CFB’s general counsel informed Adams’ campaign lawyer, Vito Pitta, that Schaffer was “using his authority delegated by the board to deny the Campaign’s [appeal] petition.” The board will vote on whether to affirm Schaffer’s ruling at its public meeting Monday, the attorney stated.
“No campaign is entitled to public matching funds. It is incumbent on a campaign to demonstrate it is eligible to receive public matching funds,” the email states, noting that because Adams is no longer running in the June primary but is running as an independent in the November general election, he won’t be eligible for matching funds until July 15.
Schaffer was first appointed to the board by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, then reappointed by de Blasio in 2018. Adams reappointed him last year to another five-year term.
The Friday email, obtained by THE CITY via Freedom of Information Law, described several instances in which the Adams campaign slow-walked responses to the board’s demands for documentation or provided incomplete information.
Pitta did not immediately respond to THE CITY’s request for comment on Schaffer’s ruling.
The Adams campaign has long blown past deadlines or simply ignored the CFB as it raised question after question about suspect donations and other potential violations of campaign finance rules that would disqualify Adams from receiving public funds. The program provides $8 for every $1 raised from New York City residents, up to $250 per donor.
This pattern of delay and defer was central to the board’s rejection last December of Adams’ initial request for $4 million in matching funds, citing not only the allegations outlined in the criminal case but also for failing to respond to the board’s demand for records related to illegal activity alleged in the federal case. The Manhattan U.S. attorney accused the mayor of soliciting and accepting illegal straw donations — including some connected to the government of Turkey — during his 2021 bid for City Hall.
Last month Pitta filed an appeal of that denial, arguing that the campaign was now eligible for the taxpayer subsidy because the criminal case against the mayor was dismissed April 2 at the request of the Trump Justice Department.
Pitta submitted the appeal despite a letter the CFB sent him April 15 notifying him that the dismissal of the criminal case would have no bearing on its decision to reject the matching funds request. The board maintained its position that the campaign remains ineligible because the Adams team continues to ignore the CFB’s demands for documents related to dozens of suspected illegal donations to both Adams’ 2021 and 2025 campaigns.
One such demand dates back to November, when CFB auditors requested explanatory documentation about several alleged straw donations spelled out in the federal indictment of the mayor. The day before a CFB-imposed Dec. 6 deadline, the campaign left a voicemail with the board stating they would not respond to the request because of the pending indictment.
The campaign relented after a federal judge approved the Trump Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case on April 2, ruling that it could not be reopened. Documents obtained by THE CITY show the Adams’ campaign provided a response regarding the specific indictment allegations, but not until 10:37 p.m. on April 14 — 130 days after its initial deadline and hours before the board was to again consider Adams’ matching funds request.
The campaign’s response — which is supposed to explain several allegedly illegal donations to Adams’ 2021 effort including some from foreign sources — has yet to be made public. Pitta did not immediately respond to THE CITY’s request for a copy of that response.
This pattern of delay continued over the weekend as the CFB expanded its examination of Adams’ campaigns.
In an April 11 letter to Pitta, the CFB demanded documentation related to multiple fundraising events that had nothing to do with the ones targeted by the federal indictment — but did feature evidence of further straw donations, most of it first surfaced in THE CITY’s reporting.
The list of requested documents was daunting, including detailed records related to money spent and raised in fundraising efforts tied to a subsequently indicted hotel owner, Weihong Hu, and Lian Wu Shao, the owner of a mall where the campaign had an office staffed by a former top Adams aide, Winnie Greco. That office and Greco’s homes were raided by the FBI and city Department of Investigation as part of an ongoing probe.
Shao hosted a lavish 2021 house party at his Long Island mansion with fine wine and lobster, which the campaign had described as a small-donor barbecue that cost less than $500.
The CFB gave Adams until last Friday to comply. Late last Thursday the campaign requested a two-week extension, which the board granted. They now have until May 16 to produce the requested records, officials said.
The Adams’ campaign’s non-responses to the board’s repeated inquiries for more information could present an even bigger headache for the mayor. Starting back in December the board began warning the campaign that it could be found to be in breach of certification for public funds, a development that could trigger the board to move to claw back the $10 million Adams was awarded in 2021.
The board has not yet issued a formal declaration regarding the campaign’s possible breach, but it made a point of repeating its warning in its April 15 letter.
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