Mayor Eric Adams of New York departs after his arraignment at federal court in Manhattan on Sept 27. NEW YORK – In December 2021, just weeks after he was elected as the second Black mayor in New York City’s history, Eric Adams took a surprise trip to Ghana. He called it a “spiritual journey,” and the weeklong tour built on a story that had resonated deeply with voters.
Adams visited slave trade sites and meditated on the remarkable arc that allowed a man whose ancestors left in shackles to return as the next leader of America’s largest city. But federal prosecutors asserted this past week that the trip was also at the centre of a far more troubling story: a long-running bribery scheme in which Turkey plied Adams with more than US$100,000 (S$128,000) in luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions in exchange for political favors. His spokesperson insisted at the time that Adams had paid for the sojourn to Ghana.
But prosecutors charged in their indictment that Turkish Airlines had secretly given Adams and his partner free business-class upgrades worth US$12,000 – right after he agreed to lean on the Fire Department to prematurely approve safety permits for Turkey’s new consulate. The five criminal counts in the indictment have made Adams, a Democrat, the first New York City mayor to face federal criminal charges. On Sept 27, he pleaded not guilty to all of them in US District Court in Manhattan.
But the 57-page indictment – stuffed with the mayor’s.