After addressing earlier calls on Wednesday, Sept. 25, for his resignation amid the political fallout stemming from a slew of recent resignations by several high profile officials in his administration, The New York Times reported Wednesday evening that New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is being indicted following a federal corruption investigation.

 

The Times reported, in part, “The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. But the federal investigation has focused at least in part on whether Mr. Adams and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations.” The indictment makes Adams the first sitting mayor of New York City to face criminal charges, according to The Times.

 

In an apparent video statement released late Wednesday night, shared by several media outlets including Bloomberg and Molly Crane Newman of the NY Daily News, Adams said, “My fellow New Yorkers, it is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes. If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies, but they would not be surprising. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you that I would be a target and a target I became.”

 

He added, “For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty. Just this past week, they searched the home of our new police commissioner, looking for documents from 20 years ago, just one week after he joined my administration. Enough! I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit.”

The mayor continued, “If charged, I know I am innocent. I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth. Now, if I am charged, many may say, I should resign because I cannot manage the City while fighting the case. I can also understand everyday New Yorkers will be concerned that I cannot do my job while I face accusations, but I have been facing these lies for months since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started.”

 

He concluded, “Yet, the city has continued to improve. Make no mistake. You elected me to lead this city and lead it, I will.” City Hall later announced that the mayor had no public events scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 26.

 

In a video recorded in the early hours of Thursday morning, Sept. 26, outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, and shared by Bernadette Hogan of NY1 on social media, Frank V Carone, ex-chief of staff to the mayor, turned consultant and lobbyist, said the turn of events was “a sad day for the mayor and the City,” and added that he had been at Gracie Mansion to support the mayor.

 

Asked what his state of mind was, Carone said, “strong, very strong.” Asked by Hogan what Carone was telling the mayor to do, Carone said, “Stay strong. We’ll see the charges when they come.” Asked by another reporter how Adams was doing, Carone said, “He’s doing good. He’s strong.” Asked by Hogan if he was aware of any other individuals in the Adams administration [who were expected to be indicted] e.g. Winnie Greco, a former director of Asian Affairs in the Adams administration whose Bronx home was raided in February by the FBI, Carone said, “No, we haven’t seen any charges.” Greco had not been charged with any crime. At least one of her Bronx homes appears to be up for sale.

 

Asked by Hogan if Carone, himself, had been contacted by the feds, “besides the situation with the Catholic Church,” Carone said, in part “No, I haven’t been contacted there or any other place.” Asked if the Sheriff’s office was involved, Carone said, “Not that I know of.” Asked if the mayor had read the indictment, Carone said, “He hasn’t been notified yet.”

 

Asked if he thought the mayor should resign, Carone said, “Absolutely not, never.” Asked why not, it was difficult to hear what Carone said but he appeared to say that the mayor’s situation was the same as anyone else. “He deserves his day in court.” he said. Asked if he thought the mayor was distracted, Carone said, “Not at all.” Asked if he thought Public Advocate Jumanne Williams was fit to serve as mayor, Carone appeared to say, in part, “There’s one mayor, as elected.”

 

Norwood News requested both City Hall and the mayor’s legal representation to authenticate the veracity of the video, a screenshot of which is attached below, and since the source is referenced on the screen as a “handout.” In the video, the mayor’s fingers appear to be briefly shaking before he presses his hands together while continuing his address.

Norwood News recently summarized the various resignations / announced retirements by top officials in the Adams administration, including Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan and Schools Commissioner David Banks earlier this week, and reported on how the mayor has been battling to retain the confidence of New Yorkers amid the latest political storm.

 

As reported in November 2023, the mayor was the subject of an investigation by federal agents into matters relating to campaign financing and his 2021 mayoral campaign. Adams repeatedly stated that he and his administration officials were cooperating with the authorities in relation to the investigation. The Bronx homes of one such official, Winnie Greco, along with others, were raided by federal agents earlier this year in the context of the investigation.

 

Separately, as also reported on March 19, during a press conference at City Hall, the mayor responded to the fact that Lorna Beach-Mathura, a resident of Florida and former resident of Brooklyn, filed a lawsuit in the State of New York the previous day, March 18, under the Adult Survivors Act against him, citing an alleged sexual assault in 1993, when both she and the mayor were employees with the Transit Bureau of the NYPD.

 

According to court-filed documents, having been passed over for promotion, Beach-Mathura, a Black, female NYPD employee, alleges she sought help with her career from Adams, both in his capacity as a police officer at the time and as a leader in the NYPD Guardians Association, an organization which advocates for the rights of Black employees.

 

Beach-Mathura, who holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership and who works in education according to her LinkedIn profile, alleges that instead of helping her, Adams allegedly asked her to perform oral sex on him after he allegedly drove her to a vacant lot. Court papers show the lawsuit was also filed against the NYPD Transit Bureau, the NYPD Guardians Association, and three other “unknown” entities, which are also defendants.

 

The Adult Survivors Act is New York State legislation enacted in May 2022 which amended state law to allow alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period, from November 24, 2022, to November 24, 2023. During the same March 2024 press conference, Adams said he and the press were already aware of the commencement of legal proceedings by Beach-Mathura in relation to the lawsuit since November 2023. The mayor denies any wrongdoing and through his lawyers has called to dismiss the case.

 

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 24, the mayor said in part of his mayoral work, “I love every day being the mayor of the City of New York, changing the lives of New Yorkers and everything that comes with it. I am more excited now being mayor than I was when I took my oath of office in the beginning.”

 

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), who represents parts of The Bronx and Queens, added to other calls for the mayor’s resignation, including one from progressive Democrat, Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán. The congresswoman wrote, “I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City. The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign.”

In an earlier interview on Wednesday with News 12 The Bronx, Adams addressed the call for his resignation by the congresswoman, saying, “Well, I’m really surprised to hear her call for the resignation of the second Black mayor in the city. Here is a person who has stood up for those who were convicted of wrongdoing and saying that they should not be held accountable. So I mean, you know, the public really takes that with a grain of salt.”

 

The News 12 interview can be watched here.

 

Earlier on Wednesday night, in response to the indictment announcement, Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper, co-directors of the New York Working Families Party, released a statement, writing, “Mayor Eric Adams can no longer govern. He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve. Our city deserves a leader we can trust and who is not engulfed in endless scandals.”

 

The statement continued, “The City Charter mandates that if the Mayor resigns, the Public Advocate becomes the interim mayor. Fortunately for the people of New York, we have a public advocate who is ready to step in and lend stability to the city in this difficult moment.”

 

NYC Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) also issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying, “Tonight’s unprecedented indictment of Eric Adams is the logical conclusion of a mayoralty that has treated New York City as a playground for millionaires and billionaires at the expense of everyone else.”

 

It continued, “Under Eric Adams, New Yorkers have seen a federal investigation into his top aide, the indictment of two top FDNY chiefs; the resignations of the Police Commissioner, Health Commissioner, Schools Chancellor, and Corporate Counsel; and too many other scandals to list.”

 

The party added, “Adams is not only staggeringly corrupt—his policies have been a disaster for working-class New Yorkers. He raised the rent on two million rent-stabilized tenants and cut funding for schools, libraries, and parks. He wasted millions of dollars on no-bid city contracts to hotel owners and for-profit service providers while laying the blame for his vicious budget cuts on asylum seekers. The result? Our city is hemorrhaging working-class families of color, who can no longer afford to live in the city that they helped build.”

 

The party continued, “It’s time to turn the page. We have the opportunity to build a New York City that works for everyone—where every worker is treated with dignity; where every neighborhood has clean air and thriving public spaces; where every person, from lifelong residents to recent arrivals, has access to safe and affordable housing; and where every student has quality public education from 3-K to CUNY.”

 

The statement concluded, “New Yorkers need a Mayor who will fight for robust social services and truly safe communities—not corporate interests and foreign governments. Eric Adams and his austerity agenda have failed us. The people deserve a city of abundance.”

 

Adams is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. He later pleaded not guilty to the announced charges in federal court on Friday, Sept. 27.

 

No charges against Greco have been announced.