The charges against Mayor Eric Adams stem from a sweeping public corruption investigation that began in 2021 and examined whether the mayor and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government that year to receive illegal foreign donations.
It’s one of several federal corruption investigations that have ensnared Mr. Adams’ administration. Here are some key events that led to the mayor’s indictment:
November 2, 2023: The FBI raids the home of Mayor Eric Adams’ top fundraiser.
Federal agents raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a recent college graduate who was in charge of Mr. Adams’s fundraising operation when he ran for mayor in 2021. Mr. Suggs was 23 when the mayor picked her for the job, and many Democratic officials who worked in fundraising were shocked that he chose someone with so little professional experience for the job.
Officers seized three iPhones and two laptops from Suggs’ home; they also took papers and other evidence, including something officers identified as a “manila folder labeled Eric Adams,” as well as seven “contribution card binders” and other documents, according to search warrant documents.
November 2, 2023: The FBI raids the home of an aide in the mayor’s international affairs office and a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on his transition team.
Investigators also searched the New Jersey homes of Rana Abbasova, an aide in Mr. Adams’s international affairs office, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on his transition team, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ms. Abbasova served as the mayor’s longtime liaison to the Turkish community when Mr. Adams was Brooklyn borough president. Mr. Öcal was the general manager of Turkish Airlines’ New York office until early 2022.
November 6, 2023: FBI seizes mayor’s phones and iPad.
In early November, FBI agents approached Mr. Adams and his security team after he attended an event in Manhattan. The agents asked the security team to step aside before climbing into the mayor’s SUV with him and taking his devices, pursuant to a court-authorized warrant. The devices were returned to the mayor within days, according to two people familiar with the situation. Law enforcement investigators can make copies of data from the seized devices.
A lawyer for the mayor, Boyd Johnson, said at the time that Mr. Adams had not been accused of wrongdoing and that he had “immediately complied with the FBI’s request and provided them with electronic devices.”
Mr Johnson also said Mr Adams had already “proactively reported” at least one instance of inappropriate behaviour.
November 28, 2023: Adams announces that his main fundraiser is out.
Weeks after agents raided Suggs’s home, Mayor Adams said at a weekly press briefing that she was no longer involved in his political fundraising. He declined to say why he removed her. Abbasova was also placed on leave after City Hall learned she had “acted inappropriately,” according to a spokesman for the mayor.
February 5, 2024: A retired police inspector pleads guilty to funneling illegal funds to the mayor’s campaign.
Dwayne Montgomery, a former police detective, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy, admitting to directing ghost donors — people who make campaign contributions using someone else’s money — to contribute to the mayor’s campaign. Mr. Montgomery was indicted in July 2023, along with five others, including four construction executives and an accountant. Mr. Montgomery agreed in his plea not to organize or host a fundraiser or solicit campaign contributions for a year.
The mayor was not implicated in the indictment or accused of any wrongdoing.
February 29, 2024: The FBI raids the home of the mayor’s adviser on Asian affairs, who was a major fundraiser for his campaign.
Agents raided two homes belonging to Winnie Greco, an aide who was a prominent fundraiser and had close ties to New York’s Chinese community. She became the mayor’s director of Asian affairs when he took office in 2022. The raids were part of an investigation by prosecutors from the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office, and it’s unclear what the investigation focused on or whether it was connected to the mayor.
Agents also executed a search warrant at the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens, where Mr. Adams made regular appearances, including to deliver a speech at a Lunar New Year gala.
July 2024: Federal prosecutors serve a new round of subpoenas on the mayor, his election committee, and City Hall.
The subpoenas sought information on a number of areas, including the travel of the mayor, his staff and others, as well as fundraising. It is unclear what prompted the new subpoenas.
September 4, 2024: Federal agents seize the phones of the police commissioner, first deputy mayor, schools chancellor and others.
Among the city officials whose phones were seized were Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban; First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; her partner, David C. Banks, the schools chancellor; Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III; and a senior adviser to the mayor, Timothy Pearson.
The seizures appear to be separate from the corruption investigation centered on the mayor and his campaign fundraising, but the actions have further destabilized his administration.
Terence Banks, a consultant who is the brother of the school’s chancellor and the deputy mayor for public safety, had his home searched and his phone seized. Officers seized his brothers’ phones because they believed they could find evidence of bribery and other crimes, including fraud and travel law violations, according to people familiar with the matter.
September 12, 2024: The police commissioner resigns.
Mr. Caban, the New York police commissioner, resigned at the request of City Hall, which asked him to step down after federal investigators seized his phone. Media coverage of those investigations has “created a distraction for the department,” Mr. Caban said in an email to members of the Police Department.
Mr. Caban’s lawyers said in a statement that federal prosecutors had told them he was not a target of the investigation and that he intended to cooperate fully with the government.
September 15, 2024: The mayor’s chief legal advisor resigns.
Lisa Zornberg has resigned as the mayor’s general counsel and chief legal adviser. She had been one of the mayor’s fiercest defenders, encouraging New Yorkers not to rush to judgment. She previously worked as a Manhattan federal prosecutor in the office that is currently conducting three separate corruption investigations into the mayor and some of his top aides.
September 16, 2024: Two former fire chiefs are arrested for corruption.
Brian E. Cordasco, 49, and Anthony M. Saccavino, 59, headed the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau until earlier this year. They were arrested and charged with accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to speed up the approval process for fire safety construction projects throughout the city.
There is no indication that the case is connected to any of the federal corruption investigations surrounding the mayor, his campaign and some of his top aides.
September 21, 2024: Federal agents search the home of the acting police commissioner.
Thomas G. Donlon, who took over for Mr. Caban on an interim basis, said federal agents searched his home and seized documents that had nothing to do with the police department. The documents were classified documents that had been in Mr. Donlon’s possession for years, according to two federal officials familiar with the matter.
September 23, 2024: The city’s health commissioner announces he will resign.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, who led New York City through the coronavirus pandemic, became the third senior administration official to resign in September amid the investigations. His decision will take effect early next year. Dr. Vasan said he decided to resign because he wanted to spend more time with his family. A City Hall spokesman said the departure was not related to the federal investigations, and the commissioner confirmed that in a brief interview with The Times.
September 23, 2024: It is first reported that federal prosecutors are investigating the mayor’s connections to five countries in addition to Turkey.
The other countries are Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan. The request for information was made in grand jury subpoenas issued last July against the mayor’s office, the mayor and his campaign. The information had not been previously released.
September 24, 2024: The schools chancellor announces his resignation.
David C. Banks, the chancellor of New York City’s public school system, has announced that he will resign from his position at the end of December, weeks after federal agents seized his phone.
September 25, 2024: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez becomes the most prominent elected official to call for Adams’ resignation.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, said in a statement to The New York Times that she could “not see how Mayor Adams could continue to govern New York City.”
“The flood of resignations and vacancies threatens the functioning of government,” she said. “The constant investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.”
“For the good of the city,” she added, “he should resign.”
The call from Ms Ocasio-Cortez, the national leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, comes after a handful of other New York lawmakers have urged Mr Adams to resign.
September 25, 2024: News of Mayor Eric Adams’ indictment is made public.
Eric Adams will be the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges.
