Hours after a federal judge tossed the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, the mayor stood on the steps of Gracie Mansion and crowed, “Today finally marks the end of this chapter.”
Not quite.
Law enforcement investigations of some of his closest aides continue apace, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and city Department of Investigation actively delving into allegations of pay-to-play at the top levels of the administration.
Several Adams allies have had their electronic devices seized; some have had their homes searched. At least 11 have resigned for reasons related to the investigations, and three have so far been indicted.
The web of investigations includes prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the Manhattan U.S. attorney and the Brooklyn U.S. attorney, and involves everything from Adams’ team members using their influence to smooth over bureaucratic obstacles or award lucrative city contracts and hefty municipal leases in exchange for personal or political benefits.
Some of those under the law enforcement microscope include some of the mayor’s closest friends and allies, many with histories that date back decades to his time as an NYPD cop, as a state senator and as Brooklyn borough president. Adams has even likened one of them, former chief advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, to his “sister.”
How far that loyalty now extends is an open question. Adams has repeatedly portrayed the federal case against him as politically motivated, a point he underscored Wednesday by urging all New Yorkers to read FBI Director Kash Patel’s book “Government Gangsters,” a conspiracy-riddled tome that alleges “deep state” actors sought to bring down President Donald Trump. The mayor has yet to make similar claims about the various investigations of his inner circle.
Instead on Wednesday, in remarks that acknowledged how his indictment may have shaken New Yorkers’ confidence in him, Adams said he “trusted people that I should not have, and I regret that.” The mayor did not name names.
Who might Adams go to the mat for? And who might he throw under the bus? Here’s a look at the allegations and investigations into former officials that Adams installed in city government:
Former Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin
Lewis-Martin, one of the mayor’s long standing associates, resigned from her spot as Number Two to the mayor in December just before she was indicted by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg on charges of using her influence to help two businessmen deal with Buildings Department issues. The DA alleged the businessmen, in turn, provided her son with $100,000 toward the purchase of a Porsch. She has denied wrongdoing and the businessmen claim the money was a loan.
Her troubles, however, are far from over. Prosecutors revealed last week a sitting grand jury was continuing to hear evidence about her and her co-defendants.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin is escorted into a Manhattan courtroom for an arraignment on bribery charges, Dec. 19, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Lewis-Martin had her phone seized by the DA and was served a subpoena by the Manhattan U.S. attorney in September when she stepped off a flight from Japan at JFK International Airport. She was accompanied on that trip by Jesse Hamilton, another longtime Adams associate the mayor had put in charge of city leases. Hamilton’s phone was also taken by the DA.
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, did not return THE CITY’s call seeking comment.
Jesse Hamilton, Deputy Commissioner of Real Estate Services
Hamilton, the city official who oversees the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) unit that determines where city agencies lease private sector office space, is currently under investigation by both the DA and the city Department of Investigation regarding whether he steered a lucrative lease to an Adams donor.
The investigation is focused on evidence that DCAS initially planned to lease space in a downtown Manhattan building at 250 Broadway, but then Hamilton intervened and 14 Wall St. became the building of choice. That landlord, a billionaire named Alexander Rovt, had raised $15,000 for the mayor’s legal defense fund.
Also under scrutiny is the infamous trip to Japan, which included Hamilton, Lewis-Martin and Diana Boutross, a Cushman & Wakefield real estate broker DCAS relies on to negotiate leases with landlords whose phone was also seized. None of the parties have yet to divulge who paid for the trip.
Hamilton has twice skipped City Council hearings that delved into city lease deals. He remains employed by DCAS. Hamilton did not respond to THE CITY’s request for comment.
The Banks Brothers
In an early morning sweep in September, law enforcement seized the phones of Schools Chancellor David Banks, his brother, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, and the chancellor’s wife, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. All have since resigned.
They also confiscated the electronic devices of the Banks’ younger brother, Terence, in an investigation that appears to tie all three brothers to a tech company called Saferwatch.
The firm was lobbying both Phil and David Banks to get their “panic button” app placed in the phones of school safety officers. The app would send out system-wide notices in the event of a fire or active shooter. At the time, the company also hired Terence Banks’ consultant firm, Pearl Associates. Their app was soon placed into a pilot program in five city schools. Saferwatch also received a subpoena.
Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, left, and Schools Chancellor David Banks. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Xavier Donaldson, a lawyer for David Banks, and Timothy Sini, a lawyer for Terence Banks, did not respond to THE CITY’s requests for comment. Phil Banks’ lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, declined comment.
Former senior mayoral aide Timothy Pearson
Pearson, a longtime friend and associate of the mayor from their days in the NYPD that the mayor appointed to a vaguely defined job as “senior advisor,” had his phone seized by the feds and DOI back in September. Weeks later he resigned.
As the wave of asylum seekers flooded New York City, the mayor put him in charge of monitoring public safety and anti-fraud issues at migrant shelters. Since then he’s been accused in four civil lawsuits of sexually harassing a female subordinate and retaliating against male subordinates who complained about his behavior.
In one lawsuit an employee recounted Pearson discussing one of the contracts the city had awarded for a migrant shelter. During the conversation, he complained that other city staffers involved in the procurement process were somehow personally benefitting, stating, “I have to get mine. Where are my crumbs?”
In February a DOI investigation concluded Pearson had committed misconduct when he attacked two security guards who demanded his ID at a Midtown shelter and then lied to the NYPD to have the guards arrested.
Pearson’s lawyer, Hugh Mo, declined to comment.
Rana Abbasova, former director of protocol in Mayor’s Office for International Affairs Office
In November 2023 federal and DOI investigators raided the homes of Adams’ campaign finance directors, Brianna Suggs, and mayoral aide Abbasova. Days later City Hall fired Abbasova.
At the time, reports emerged that she was cooperating with law enforcement. She is listed as “Adams staffer” throughout the mayor’s indictment, allegedly helping to arrange illegal straw donations and travel perks for the mayor provided by officials with ties to the Turkish government.
Rachel Maimin, an attorney for Rana Abbasova, did not respond to THE CITY’s request for comment.
Former mayoral aides Mohammed Bahi and Ahsan Chughtai
In December 2021, Bahi and Chughtai — then campaign volunteers who later became the mayor’s liaisons to the Muslim community — arranged $10,000 in straw donations for the campaign via an Uzbek businessman, according to Adams’ indictment. After Adams became mayor, the businessman requested his help dealing with a problem with the building department and later thanked the mayor profusely for his assistance.
Former Mayor Eric Adams aide Mohamed Bahi leaves Manhattan federal court after being charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence, Oct. 8, 2024. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY
In July law enforcement seized devices belonging to Bahi and Chughtai, and both later resigned from City Hall. In October Bahi was arrested, charged with orchestrating the illegal donation scheme and then trying to cover his tracks. The criminal complaint alleged that when he learned the FBI had visited the donors, he informed the mayor and the mayor told him he was confident they would not cooperate with law enforcement.
In February prosecutors said Bahi had agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy count. His actual plea has yet to take place. Bahi’s lawyer, Derek Adams, did not respond to THE CITY’s request for comment.
There’s no public record of Chughtai being charged.
Winnie Greco, mayor’s liaison to the Asian community
Greco, who has served as an unpaid campaign fundraiser for Adams since 2018, had two homes she owns in The Bronx, as well as an Adams campaign office she worked at in 2021, raided by the FBI early last year — shortly after THE CITY and Documented reported on suspicious campaign donations there.
In October she resigned from her paid government job, where she had served as Adams’ Asian Affairs Advisor since January 2022.
Greco is also the subject of a probe launched in November 2023 by the city’s Department of Investigation into whether she used her government position for personal gain, including by allegedly requiring a subordinate to do unpaid renovation work at one of her Bronx homes.
Greco also lived for at least nine months in a taxpayer-funded suite at a Queens hotel owned by developer and Adams fundraiser Weihong Hu, an arrangement that’s also under investigation by DOI. Greco’s attorney and City Hall have previously said she paid for the room, but have not provided evidence.
Winnie Greco, left, stands near then-mayoral candidate Eric Adams during a Long Island fundraiser in 2021. Credit: Screengrab via YouTube/Jerry Wang
Hu was indicted in February on corruption charges after she allegedly paid kickbacks to the head of a nonprofit organization that was providing re-entry services for former inmates.
Hu held multiple fundraisers for Adams in 2021 and 2023, raising tens of thousands of dollars in donations. A number of contributors to a June 2023 fundraiser attended by Adams and Greco previously told THE CITY they were each reimbursed for their $2,000 donations by members of Hu’s family.
Such a reimbursement would be illegal, but there’s been no public suggestion that Hu’s indictment is connected to her fundraising for Adams. Hu has pleaded not guilty.
An attorney for Greco declined to comment, and Hu’s attorney in the criminal case didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Edward Caban, police commissioner
Caban resigned in early September after serving for just over a year as NYPD commissioner, stepping down just days after he and his twin brother’s homes in Rockland County were raided by the FBI.
The office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District is reportedly looking into whether the brother, James Caban — who was fired from the NYPD in 2001 for abuse of authority — was benefitting from the commissioner’s position by offering to protect nightclubs from police enforcement as a paid consultant.
A former Brooklyn bar owner who said his establishment was frequently targeted by police came forward just days after Edward Caban’s resignation to allege that a City Hall staffer had connected him to James Caban for assistance with dealing with the local precinct. The bar owner, Shamel Kelly, said Caban asked him for $2,500 to help smooth things over, but that he refused to pay.
The phones of multiple high-ranking police officials, including those overseeing enforcement of nightclubs in certain precincts, have been seized as part of the federal probe, according to published reports.
Separate attorneys for Edward and James Caban didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
Eric Ulrich, building commissioner
Ulrich was the first top mayoral aide to be implicated in scandal. He resigned his position as commissioner of the Department of Buildings in November 2022 and was indicted by the Manhattan DA about a year later, charged with taking bribes from a variety of individuals seeking favorable treatment from City Hall.
Prosecutors charged that Ulrich had accepted cash and Mets tickets from a tow truck firm seeking to expand its work hauling away vehicles off city highways, took payments from a Queens restaurateur who was battling with buildings inspectors, and accepted a discount apartment from a developer trying to get City Hall to evict a homeless shelter near one of his properties.
The case against Ulrich is pending. His attorney, David Cohen, did not respond to THE CITY’s request for comment.
Jeffrey Maddrey, NYPD chief of department
Maddrey, the highest uniformed officer in the NYPD, had his home raided by federal officials in January, following a complaint filed by a female subordinate that he had coerced sexual favors from her in exchange for overtime opportunities.
The subordinate, former Lt. Quatisha Epps, also alleged wider overtime abuse at the department during Caban’s tenure in a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Maddrey has denied the claims, acknowledging only that he and Epps had an “office fling.” His attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Adams elevated Maddrey to Chief of Department and repeatedly defended the appointment despite a number of misconduct allegations against Maddrey over the past decade.
In late 2021, Maddrey was accused of ordering that the arrest of an ex-cop be voided, just hours after the ex-cop allegedly threatened three kids with a gun. A video investigation by THE CITY detailed the unusual lengths that Maddrey went to intervene in the case, which a Civilian Complaint Review Board probe subsequently determined to be abuse of authority.
Maddrey eluded discipline after Caban ruled the CCRB didn’t have purview over the incident.
In 2015, Maddrey was investigated by the NYPD after he got into a physical tussle with an underling he was having an affair with, and allegedly lied to the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau about it.
He escaped that jam with the loss of 45 vacation days despite initially being charged with fireable offenses.
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