Mayor Eric Adams, only the second Black person to serve as mayor of New York City, has also become its first sitting mayor in the city’s history to be indicted on criminal charges. Investigations have swirled around various members of his administration for months, starting last November when his chief fundraiser , had her house raided in an FBI probe into whether Mayor Adams’ campaign had conspired with Turkey to take in illegal foreign donations. Now, the mayor himself is facing charges on five separate criminal counts, including conspiracy to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals, wire fraud and bribery.
Here’s a look into the and the fallout. This count relates to alleged activity dating as far back as 2014 when Adams became Brooklyn borough president. The indictment accuses Adams of accepting expensive gifts and luxury international travel from “wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official.
” His ties to Turkey, in particular, allegedly allowed him and his companions to travel to countries including Turkey, China, France, and India on Turkey’s national airline for free or “a nominal fee.” This charge alleges that Adams’ campaign stole money from the city’s matching funds program. The program allows the city to match funds that NYC residents contribute but forbids the use of “straw donations” (contributions received from people illegally using another person’s money to donate in their own name).
The ind.
