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Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges of bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, according to a bombshell federal indictment unsealed by Manhattan prosecutors Thursday.
The five-count indictment — the first against a sitting New York City mayor — details for the first time the charges against Hizzoner after he was indicted by a grand jury as part of a long-running federal probe that’s ensnared a number of his closest allies and aides.
“In 2014, Eric Adams, the defendant, became Brooklyn Borough President. Thereafter, for nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him,” the indictment charges.
Prior to the indictment coming down, sources had revealed the charges were likely connected to allegations the Turkish government had illegally funneled money into Adams’ mayoral campaign in exchange for approval of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan.
“Eric Adams the defendant, sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of “nominee” or “straw” contributions, meaning that the true contributors conveyed their money through nominal donors, who falsely certified they were contributing their own money,” the indictment stated.
“By smuggling their contributions to Adams through U.S.-based straw donors, Adams’s overseas contributors defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on U.S. elections.”
It wasn’t immediately clear when Adams would have to appear in court in the wake of the indictment. Sources had earlier told The Post he wasn’t expected to turn himself in until early next week.
The court filing dropped shortly before US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, was slated to hold an 11.30 a.m. news conference to announce “significant public corruption charges.”
Meanwhile, nearly a dozen FBI agents were spotted swarming Adams’ mayoral home, Gracie Mansion, Thursday just hours before the indictment was made public.
A lawyer for Adams later ripped the FBI search and heavy law enforcement presence as a “spectacle,” saying the feds had come to take one of the mayor’s phones — months after they seized several of his devices amid the probe.
“Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again),” the attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement.
“He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”
Eric Adams indicted: Live updates after NYC mayor hit with indictment
Hizzoner, meanwhile, vowed late Wednesday to remain in office despite mounting calls for his resignation — insisting that any charges he was facing were “entirely false, based on lies.”
He also claimed he was being targeted for criticizing the Harris-Biden administration over its handling of the migrant crisis that’s wrecked the Big Apple.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target — and a target I became,” a defiant Adams said. “I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit.”
The historic indictment is the extraordinary culmination of weeks of searches, subpoenas and resignations of top City Hall officials that have thrust the Adams’ administration into a spiraling crisis.
The federal investigations into Adams and his administration first exploded into the public realm in November last year when the FBI raided Suggs’ Brooklyn home.
The raid sought evidence of straw donor kickbacks by the Turkish government and the Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group into Adams’ mayoral campaign.
Just days later, the feds seized the mayor’s phones and iPad on the streets of Manhattan as he was leaving an event.
Stay updated with The NYP’s coverage on Mayor Eric Adam’s indictment
Meanwhile, Greco — a top Adams aide — had her Bronx home raided by FBI agents in February, though it wasn’t clear at the time whether it was tied to the Turkey probe.
Over the summer, federal prosecutors, too, subpoenaed Adams, his campaign arm and City Hall to obtain information about the mayor’s schedule, his overseas travel and potential ties to the Turkish government.
Then, on Sept. 4, federal investigators seized electronic devices from the city’s police commissioner, schools chancellor, deputy mayor of public safety, first deputy mayor and other trusted confidantes of Adams — both in and out of City Hall.
It wasn’t clear at the time, though, if those subpoenas targeting top admin officials and Adams’ confidantes were tied to the mayor’s recent indictment or another one of the ongoing federal probes.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who are behind many of the probes, have long remained tight-lipped about any potential charges and how, if at all, the investigations may be linked to each other.
No one else, to date, has been charged or accused of any wrongdoing in the investigations.
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