New York City Mayor Eric Adams could face additional charges in his federal corruption case and more defendants are “likely,” a federal prosecutor said.
U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten said there was evidence that Adams, 64, attempted to tamper with a witness in the investigation, and Scotten said that after FBI agents contacted a witness, the individual received “a clear message from the defendant.” “that he shouldn’t be honest with the FBI.
Scotten called it a “significant example of witness interference in this case.”
The prosecutor also revealed Wednesday in Thurgood Marshall court that access to the mayor’s cell phone has been unreachable after they obtained it almost a year ago, in November 2023.
Adams had changed the password after learning of the investigation, before telling authorities he had forgotten the new one, according to the indictment.
New York Mayor Eric Adams leaves the Thurgood Marshall courtroom after making his first appearance in his corruption case on October 2.
Adams has been charged with five crimes: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in federal programs, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, wire fraud and bribery.
Defense attorney Alex Spiro (center) and Adams (bottom right) attend a federal court appearance. Judge Dale Ho (left) said a speedy trial was in the mayor’s and public interest, but did not set a trial date.
Additional defendants could be charged in a superseding indictment or in a separate case, Scotten added.
Adams is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery of federal programs and receiving campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
He is also accused of defrauding New York City taxpayers of $10 million through allegedly fraudulent campaign funds.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week and said he had done nothing wrong.
He was arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court on Friday as the first New York City mayor to be charged while in office.
“I’m not guilty, your honor,” he told Judge Katharine Parker when asked how he pleaded guilty to the five federal charges.
While Judge Dale Ho said a speedy trial was in the mayor’s and public interest, he did not set a trial date.
Adam’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 1 to discuss the mayor’s attempts to dismiss the bribery charge and examine whether prosecutors leaked information about the investigation to the media.
Defense attorney Alex Spiro requested that they wanted the trial to end in March 2025 because of the certification process for next year’s mayoral election, hinting that Adam’s running for re-election has not yet been ruled out.
Last week, Sprio told the public after Adams’ hearing that “there are no emails, text messages or any corroboration that the mayor knew anything to do with these campaign donations.”
‘The whole body of evidence is a member of staff saying there is a conversation. What they have not learned is that the employee lied and the government is in possession of that lie.
“When that employee was first interviewed, he said that Mayor Adams didn’t know anything about this, that he wasn’t involved in this and that he’s innocent.
‘They have that information, they have not given it to us and they have not given it to you.’
Spiro alluded to Adams’ claim that he was targeted by the feds because he spoke out against the Biden Administration’s handling of the immigration crisis.
‘Why are they doing this? Why are they attacking him? said.
Adams pleaded not guilty Sept. 27 to fraud and bribery charges in a case that marks a stunning fall for a man once touted as a future star of the Democratic Party.
According to the indictment, Adams’ relationship with Turkish officials led him to accept a series of luxury gifts, including stays at luxurious Istanbul hotels.
According to prosecutors, Eric Adams accepted a series of gifts and luxury amenities from foreign governments hoping to buy influence with him.
‘They implied that he is letting people down or that people should be disappointed in him. It’s not him doing this, it’s the government, the other government, that should disappoint everyone by bringing this case against a sitting mayor.’
Scotten suggested Wednesday using former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery case as a basis for drawing up a timeline for the trial, proposing they begin in May.
Separately, the federal prosecutor said they had not yet received City Hall’s full response to subpoenas issued in July, which requested information about the mayor’s contacts with other foreign governments, including Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan. .
Sprio revealed Wednesday that they had not finished turning over records and documents in response to the subpoena, but said prosecutors now viewed all of Adams’ interactions with immigrant communities as “suspicious.”
The mayor of New York allegedly took advantage of the city’s system of matching campaign contributions with tax dollars, and “fraudulently obtained up to $2,000 in public funds for each illegal contribution,” the indictment alleges.
He allegedly “relied on the hidden nature of these illegal contributions to falsely represent that his campaigns were law-abiding.”
“As a result of those false certifications, Adam’s 2021 mayoral campaign received more than $10,000,000 in public funds,” prosecutors said Thursday.
According to the indictment, Adams’ relationship with Turkish officials led him to accept a series of luxury gifts, including stays at luxurious Istanbul hotels.
Adams allegedly pressured the FDNY to open a Turkish government-owned skyscraper in Manhattan in exchange for “luxury travel benefits,” even though the building failed safety inspections.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams alleged that Adams “took corrupt official actions in exchange for some of the benefits of luxury travel.”
He alleged there were “significant time pressures” to open the building in time for a visit by Türkiye’s president, at the behest of a Turkish official.
According to prosecutors, Adams accepted a series of gifts and luxury amenities from foreign governments hoping to buy influence with him.
This included free travel, hotel suites and airline upgrades valued at more than $100,000.
For example, he allegedly accepted free upgrades to business class with companions for flights from New York to France, Turkey, Sri Lanka and China in July 2017.