New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted this week on five federal criminal charges after a nearly yearlong FBI investigation into his 2021 mayoral campaign.
Since November 2023, federal authorities have raided homes, seized devices, and served subpoenas to numerous members of the mayor’s inner circle. Adams himself has twice had his cellphone seized during the FBI’s investigation into whether his mayoral campaign illegally received donations and favors from Turkey.
Multiple resignations of top city officials have followed the searches, which have oftentimes been unexplained and unexpected. The mayor has defiantly proclaimed his innocence throughout the FBI’s inquiries.
But how did the saga start? Here’s the Washington Examiner’s timeline of the investigations into Adams.
Nov. 2, 2023
The FBI’s investigation into whether Adams or his affiliates worked with the Turkish government to funnel foreign money into his campaign’s coffers became public nearly a year ago. At the time, federal agents raided Brianna Suggs’s and Rana Abbasova’s homes. Both women were affiliated with Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign.
Nov. 6, 2023
FBI agents stopped Adams outside after an event at New York University. They executed a court-authorized warrant to seize at least two of his cellphones and an iPad.
Nov. 15, 2023
Adams created the Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust Fund to pay for FBI inquiries. New York’s conflict of interest board monitors the trust fund.
Feb. 29, 2024
The FBI searched the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, one of the mayor’s senior advisers. The city’s Department of Investigation had previously confirmed that it opened an inquiry into allegations that she tried to benefit improperly from her government position. Greco, the director of the city’s Asian affairs, went on medical leave following the raid. She returned to work in May 2024.
August 2024
Federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas, which were related to the FBI’s corruption investigation into the mayor’s alleged unethical ties to Turkish donors, to Adams, his 2021 election committee, and City Hall.
Sept. 4, 2024
The FBI searched the home of first Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Schools Chancellor David Banks, who Adams appointed. Federal agents also targeted the homes and seized the phones of two other Banks brothers, Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety, and Terence Banks.
Sept. 5, 2024
Federal agents seized the cellphones of numerous top NYPD officials, including Commissioner Edward Caban.
Sept. 12, 2024
Caban, a 33-year NYPD veteran, resigned as the department’s head.
The next day, Democratic state Sen. Julia Salazar and Democratic state Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher became the first elected officials to publicly urge the mayor to step down.
Gallagher said the city does not deserve a mayor “who surrounds himself with criminals and alleged corruption up to the very top.”
We deserve a new mayor. A mayor who cuts education, library budgets, and parks, who surrounds himself with criminals and alleged corruption up to the very top, does not deserve our trust. (1/2)
— Emily Gallagher (@EmilyAssembly) September 13, 2024
Sept. 14, 2024
Adams’s top legal council, City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, resigned. The mayor’s staff announced her departure without any explanation.
Sept. 16, 2024
Retired New York City Fire Department chiefs Brian Cordasco and Anthony Saccavino were arrested after a yearlong corruption investigation. The two men were charged with allegedly accepting $190,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting inspections, according to the indictment that was unsealed in a Manhattan federal court.
Sept. 20, 2024
Molly Schaeffer, the director overseeing the city’s Office of Asylum Seekers, was served a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan. She was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Sept. 21, 2024
Federal agents raided interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon, though he said the unexplained and unexpected search was unrelated to the corruption investigation.
“They took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department,” he said.
Sept. 23, 2024
NYC Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan announced his resignation, effective in 2025. Vasan said he was stepping down because of personal reasons unrelated to the federal investigations involving the Adams administration.
Sept. 24, 2024
David Banks said he would retire at the end of 2024.
Sept. 26, 2024
Adams was indicted on five counts: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; one count of wire fraud; two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and one count of bribery.
“For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty,” the mayor said during a video statement from his home just before prosecutors unveiled the indictment. “I know I am innocent.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
FBI agents raided Adams’s personal home, Gracie Mansion, and confiscated his cellphone.
“He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court,” Alex Spiro, an attorney for Adams, told NBC. “They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”
