New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted Thursday on federal charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. The U.S.
attorney’s office in Manhattan alleges in the indicment that Adams “compounded his gains” from the illegal contributions by gaming the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small dollar donations. FBI agents entered the mayor’s official residence and seized his phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public. The indictment caps off an extraordinary few weeks in New York City, as federal investigators have homed in on members of Adams’ inner circle, producing a drum-beat of raids, subpoenas and high-level resignations that have thrust City Hall into crisis.
Here's the latest: Adams has often highlighted his working-class upbringing. He was one of six children raised by a single mother and has spoken of carrying around a garbage bag packed with his clothes because he feared his family would be evicted. At 15, he was beaten by police officers after being arrested for trespassing, but the bruising encounter sparked a desire to change the system from within, he said.
Adams joined the New York City transit police in 1984 and eventually became a New York Police Department officer when the transit department merged into the larger NYPD. He rose to the rank of captain and was the co-founder of an advocacy group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, whic.
