New York City Mayor Eric Adams was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice

27/9/2024 6:09

        New York City Mayor Eric
        Adams was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in a
        five-count criminal indictment unsealed on Thursday, becoming
        the city's first sitting mayor to face criminal charges.
        
        The counts include bribery, wire fraud, two counts of
        soliciting contributions by foreign nationals, and conspiracy to
        commit each of those crimes, covering alleged misconduct over
        nearly a decade.
        
        Adams, 64, could face up to 45 years in prison. He said he
        was innocent and pledged: "I will continue to do my job as
        mayor."
        
        The following are some accusations in the indictment, and
        have not been proven in court:
        
        
        
        * Adams sought and accepted illegal contributions from
        foreign nationals to his successful 2021 mayoral campaign in
        exchange for favorable treatment. He planned to solicit more
        illegal contributions for his 2025 reelection bid, according to
        the indictment.
        
        
        
        * Illegal contributions were funneled through U.S.-based
        "straw" donors who falsely certified they provided the money.
        Many donations were arranged by a senior Turkish diplomat.
        Prosecutors said among those involved were an Adams staffer, the
        owner of a Turkish university, and a promoter who sought to
        leverage Adams' "considerable fame" in Turkey to benefit
        clients.
        
        
        
        * Adams defrauded New York City and stole more than $10
        million of public funds by applying for matching funds for his
        2021 campaign based on the illegal contributions, according to
        the indictment. The funds were intended to match small donations
        from New York City residents, to encourage candidates to engage
        with average New Yorkers.
        
        
        
        * The Turkish diplomat arranged for Adams and companions to
        receive free or discounted travel on Turkish Airlines to Turkey,
        China, France, Hungary, India and Sri Lanka, as well as free
        hotel rooms, meals and entertainment at high-end establishments
        in Turkey. Adams began secretly accepting free travel in 2016,
        when he was president of New York City's borough of Brooklyn,
        prosecutors said.
        
        In one example in the indictment, Adams paid less than $600
        combined to spend four nights in 2017 and 2019 in suites at the
        St. Regis Istanbul hotel that should have cost $10,000.
        
        Adams did not disclose the travel benefits in his annual
        financial disclosures. He was accused of sometimes instructing
        others to create fake paper trails to suggest he paid for or
        planned to pay for them.
        
        
        
        * Adams and his staffer exchanged text messages in March
        2019 about another trip to Turkey for which travel would be
        arranged. The staffer texted Adams: "To be o[n the] safe side
        Please Delete all messages you send me." Adams responded:
        "Always do."
        
        
        
        * Adams pressured the city's fire department in September
        2021 to let Turkey open its new, 36-story consulate near the
        United Nations in time for a visit by Turkey President Recep
        Tayyip Erdogan. The building would have failed an inspection,
        prosecutors said.
        
        Pressure began after the Turkish diplomat told Adams'
        staffer that because Turkey had supported Adams, it was "his
        turn" to support Turkey. The staffer relayed this message to
        Adams, who responded "I know."
        
        Adams later told the fire commissioner the city should let
        Turkey occupy the consulate though the country's officials "know
        they have some issues." The commissioner responded: "We will get
        on it tomorrow," and through his staffer Adams assured the
        diplomat: "I am on top of this."
        
        Soon after the building was deemed safe, Adams allegedly
        accepted more than $14,000 of additional luxury travel benefits.
        
        
        
        * After becoming mayor in 2022, Adams favored "those who
        provided him with illegal benefits over those who fell short,"
        the indictment said. This included not making a statement about
        the 1915 Armenian genocide at an annual remembrance of the
        massacre, and declining to meet with the Turkish university
        owner after he failed to arrange $25,000 of promised 2021
        campaign donations.
        
        
        
        * Adams canceled a planned a November 2023 dinner with the
        owner of a logistics company from the Turkish-American community
        in the New York City area who wanted to "contribute significant
        amounts of money" to his reelection campaign after the federal
        probe into Adams' conduct became public.
        
        
        
        * After learning he was being investigated, Adams in
        November 2023 increased the complexity of the password on his
        personal cellphone, saying it was to prevent staffers from
        deleting its contents and impeding investigators. He then
        claimed he had forgotten the new password, and therefore could
        not help the FBI unlock the phone, prosecutors said.