Legal issues keep mounting for Mayor Eric Adams and his inner circle as he inches closer to his re-election campaign next year.
The most recent development involves federal authorities raiding the homes of at least two top City Hall officials early Wednesday.
City officials confirmed First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks were the latest administration officials visited by FBI agents. Schools Chancellor David Banks — the brother of Phil Banks — lives with Wright at her northern Manhattan brownstone.
It’s unclear if the raids are related to an ongoing investigation into Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign.
Phil Banks was previously considered an unindicted co-conspirator in a police bribery scandal. He retired from the NYPD in 2014 amid the federal investigation. Wright has served as top deputy mayor since Adams took office at the start of 2022.
Both the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the Manhattan district attorney’s office have been investigating Adams’ campaign for potential illegal donations for more than a year.
Since the federal investigation became public last November, the FBI has shown up at the homes of several of Adams’ aides and associates, though the mayor himself is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Here’s a timeline on the ongoing investigations surrounding Adams’ administration and his 2021 mayoral campaign:
July 7, 2023: The Manhattan DA’s office indicts six men for directing illegal straw donations to Adams’ 2021 campaign. The group includes Dwayne Montgomery, a retired NYPD inspector whom the mayor acknowledged socializing with when they were both officers, and brothers Shahid and Yahya Mushtaq, owners of Queens construction safety firm. Prosecutors later said Adams’ aide Rachel Atcheson helped Montgomery organize a 2020 fundraiser that led to the straw donations. She was not accused of wrongdoing and remains deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.
Sept. 13, 2023: Adams’ former buildings commissioner Eric Ulrich is indicted on bribery charges by the Manhattan DA’s office. Ulrich, a former Republican councilmember whom the mayor also selected as an adviser, is accused of accepting $150,000 in cash and gifts in exchange for access to the mayor and city officials, as well as assisting with permitting and city jobs. Ulrich pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Ulrich also accepted a discounted rate on a luxury condo from an influential developer. Ulrich later attempted to conspire with the developer to clear a homeless shelter for people displaced by disasters, which was located in a hotel across the street from his luxury condo, according to one of the indictments against him.
Oct. 24, 2023: Shahid and Yahya Mushtaq plead guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy charges related to the alleged straw donor scheme. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, the Mushtaqs pledge to share witnesses, documents and other information as part of a larger investigation, according to the Manhattan DA’s office.
Nov. 2, 2023: FBI agents raid the Brooklyn home of Adams’ top fundraiser, 25-year-old intern Brianna Suggs. The raid is linked to an ongoing federal investigation that’s reportedly tied to illegal donations from Turkish officials. Adams denied any wrongdoing after rushing back to New York City from a scheduled White House visit about the migrant crisis. Adams’ chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, confirmed the mayor’s office is cooperating with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.
The New York Times later reports that FBI agents also raided the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, an aide in the international affairs office, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who was on Adams’ transition team.
Nov. 6, 2023: Adams’ cellphones and other electronic devices are seized by FBI agents who approach him in public following an event in Manhattan. Two days later, the mayor announces that he has retained the services of law firm WilmerHale.
Feb. 5, 2024: Dwayne Montgomery, the former NYPD inspector, pleads guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy, admitting that he instructed straw donors to donate to Adams’ 2021 campaign. Unlike the Mushtaq brothers, who own a construction company, there is no indication in court filings that Montgomery is cooperating with the district attorney.
Feb. 29, 2024: FBI agents raid the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, one of Adams’ top advisers and fundraisers. Greco, who has helped Adams raise money from the Chinese community, suffers an apparent medical episode during the raid and goes on sick leave. The raid is reportedly conducted under the aegis of federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. Zornberg, the city’s chief counsel, says there is “no indication” that the mayor is a target of the investigation.
March 18, 2024: Chinese billionaire Hui Qin pleads guilty to making straw donations to various candidates for local and federal office, less than six months after he was charged by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Federal prosecutors said Qin, who has homes in Old Westbury and Manhattan, agreed to reimburse others for contributions they made on his behalf to a candidate for citywide office between December 2021 and 2022. Although t charging documents did not explicitly name Adams, campaign finance records show Qin contributed to the mayor’s campaign in 2021. Adams’ attorney Vito Pitta said the campaign had no knowledge of illicit donations from Qin.
April 18, 2024: Shamsuddin Riza, a construction company owner, pleads guilty to conspiring to make illegal donations to Adams’ 2021 campaign. As part of an agreement with Manhattan DA prosecutors, Riza will be sentenced to three years probation. He is the fourth person to have pleaded guilty in the case.
Aug. 15, 2024: The mayor’s office confirms a New York Times report that Adams and members of his campaign received federal subpoenas in July.
Sept. 4, 2024: FBI agents raid the homes of top Adams aides Sheena Wright and Philip Banks.