A grand jury has indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams on 5 criminal counts in a corruption probe. Prosecutors accuse Adams of soliciting bribes from wealthy foreign businesspeople. A grand jury has indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams on five criminal counts in a federal corruption probe.
The retired captain of the New York Police Department is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be indicted while in office. A sweeping 57-page indictment, unsealed on Thursday, accuses Adams, a Democrat, of soliciting bribes, including $100,000 worth of luxury international travel, from wealthy foreign businesspeople, including at least one Turkish government official, who was "seeking to gain influence over him" for nearly a decade. And they were successful, prosecutors say.
In exchange for those bribes, Adams pressured government officials into approving paperwork for the Turkish House, a Manhattan skyscraper that houses Turkey's consulate, prosecutors say. He also agreed not to make statements about the Armenian genocide, according to the indictment. Prosecutors also accuse Adams of knowingly seeking out illegal campaign contributions from corporations and foreign nationals.
Here are the five counts Adams is facing: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals Wire fraud Solicitation of a Contribution by a Foreign National (two counts) Bribery During a press conference, Damian Williams, the US attorney f.