After a decade of investigation and investigations related to donations to his electoral campaign and monitoring of his trips to Asia and Europe, the Prosecutor’s Office for the Southern District of Manhattan released this Thursday an extensive criminal accusation against the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, in a 57-page document.
In summary, the municipal leader is accused of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign citizens, committing electronic fraud and bribery, which would hypothetically lead, if judged guilty, to a maximum sentence of five years in prison. If found responsible for the apparent wire fraud charge, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
In the midst of this maelstrom, which for the first time a mayor faces in the history of the city of New York, until the closing of this edition, the president, already officially accused in court, asserted that he was innocent and will remain at the head of his functions: “I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense.”
In a press conference, the Democratic leader indicated that nothing surprises him. “The actions that have taken place in the last 10 months, the leaks, the comments, the demonization. “It did not surprise us that we have reached this day,” he said.
It was learned that his defense attorney, Alex Spiro, has already sent a letter for the accused to appear before the judge, between this Friday, September 27, or Monday, September 30.
Furthermore, the closing of the accusation highlights that the charges contained in the revealed document are mere accusations and the municipal leader is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This historic indictment, brought by Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Deputy Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), will be prosecuted by Federal District Judge Dale E. Ho.
“The unsealed indictment alleges that Mayor Adams abused his power and position for nearly a decade, obtaining personal benefits and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals, giving them undue influence over him. As he is accused, this conduct compromised his integrity as an elected official. “I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI for their commitment to partnering with the DOI to root out corruption,” said DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber.
The accusation in detail
“In 2014, Eric Adams, the defendant, became Brooklyn Borough President. Thereafter, for almost a decade, he sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businessmen and at least one Turkish government official, who sought to gain influence over him,” the text signed by prosecutor Damian Williams.
The lawsuit highlights that since 2018, when it was barely in his plans to run for mayor, “he not only accepted, but sought illegal contributions,” for his 2021 campaign.
It is claimed that even after his inauguration as mayor, he soon began preparing for his next election, even planning to solicit more illegal contributions and granting “favors” from those who supported his 2021 mayoral campaign with such donations.
$10 million of dark origin
The indictment states that the team in charge of raising funds for Adams’ campaign built an entire fraudulent web to try to hide that the origin of million-dollar donations really came from abroad. And in that way, apparently circumventing federal laws that prohibit the influence of other countries in American elections.
But behind this fictitious structuring of donations, from abroad, the prosecution verbatim claims that an entire subplot was also opened to “defraud and steal” public funds from the City of New York.
The Big Apple famously has a matching fund program, which matches individual residents’ small-dollar contributions with up to eight times their amount in public funds to give New Yorkers a greater say in elections.
From this flank of the campaign finance law, the mayor supported an entire network of financial engineering and document falsification, digitally, to obtain more funds for his campaign, sneaking in foreign money, disguising it as American money.
“The Adams campaign requested matching funds, based on known fictitious donations, fraudulently obtaining up to $2,000 in public funds, for each illegal contribution (…) As a result of these false certifications, Adams’ mayoral campaign in 2021, received more of $10,000,000 in public funds,” the indictment says.
Travel, luxuries and gifts
The conclusion of the prosecution’s investigation goes to great lengths to highlight that the defendant today also sought and received other improper benefits from some of the same co-conspirators, who channeled fictitious donations to his campaigns.
In particular, it points to a senior official in the Turkish diplomatic establishment who facilitated many fictitious donations and arranged for Adams and a group of companions to receive several free or discounted trips on Turkey’s national airline to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey itself.
These trips, connections and alleged “favors” agreements, if the then Brooklyn borough president ascended to the mayor’s office, began in 2015. It is estimated that everything amounted to $100,000.
“Turkish officials also arranged for Adams and his companions to receive, among other things, free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free lavish entertainment while in Turkey,” prosecutors detail.
The conclusion of the investigations is that the municipal president supposedly made “financial montages of documents” so as not to reveal any of these trips in his annual disclosure forms, which by law he had to declare.
In the lines revealed in the accusation, which was also argued with cross-text messages, documents and photographs, a direct triangulation between Turkish officials and businessmen is described, fraudulent donations to the campaign and some “favors” that apparently arose, a time he took office as municipal leader.
For example, it is cited that during a stay in Istanbul, on a trip in July and August 2017, Adams and some companions, whose identities are not revealed, accepted a deeply discounted room at the St. Regis Istanbul. There he stayed in the ‘Bentley Suite’. Although the cost for two nights would have cost approximately $7,000, he ultimately paid a total of $600.
It is also mentioned that in October 2016, the municipal president and his partner traveled to India. They had purchased economy class tickets on Turkish Airlines, for approximately $2,286. Two hours before his flight was scheduled to depart, Adams accepted an upgrade for himself and his partner to business class at no cost.
Without that “favor,” the tickets would have cost approximately $15,000 in total.
Turkish connection
In September 2021, in exchange for these “gifts,” prosecutors said in a statement, a Turkish official apparently asked Adams to pressure the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to facilitate the opening of a new Turkish consular building, a 36-story skyscraper, without a fire inspection. All in time for a high-profile visit by the president of Türkiye.
“At that time, the building would have failed an FDNY inspection. In exchange for free trips and other travel-related bribes in 2021 and 2022, organized by the Turkish official. Adams did as he was told. The official responsible for the FDNY assessment of the skyscraper’s fire safety was told he would lose his job if he did not comply. The skyscraper was inaugurated as requested,” the extensive document concludes.
In this sense, FBI Deputy Director James E. Dennehy said that this indictment serves as a moment of reflection, but also “sends a powerful message to all elected officials in this country: public service is a profound responsibility and It must be a noble calling. When that is perverted by greed and dishonesty, it robs us of our trust. “This is a reminder that no one is above the law.”