New York Mayor Eric Adams could face additional charges in his federal corruption case and it is “likely” there will be more defendants, a federal prosecutor said.
Federal prosecutor Hagan Scotten said there was evidence that Adams, 64, tried to tamper with a witness in the investigation, with Scotten claiming that after FBI agents contacted one witness, the person had “a clear message from the suspect.” told that he should not be suspected. fair to the FBI.
Scotten called it a “significant example of witness interference in this case.”
Prosecutors also revealed at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse on Wednesday that access to the mayor’s cellphone was inaccessible after obtaining it nearly a year ago in November 2023.
Adams changed the password after learning of the investigation before telling authorities he had forgotten the new one, the complaint said.
New York Mayor Eric Adams leaves the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse after making his first appearance in his corruption case on October 2
Adams has been charged with five felonies: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, solicitation of a contribution by an alien, wire fraud and bribery.
Attorney Alex Spiro (center) and Adams (bottom right) attend a hearing in federal court. Judge Dale Ho (left) said a speedy trial was in the interests of the public and the mayor, but he did not set a trial date
The additional suspects could be charged in a superseding indictment or in a separate case, Scotten added.
Adams is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery and receiving campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
He is also accused of defrauding New York taxpayers of $10 million through allegedly fraudulent campaign funds.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week, claiming he had done nothing wrong.
He was arraigned Friday in Manhattan Federal Court as the first New York City mayor to be indicted while in office.
“I’m not guilty, your honor,” he told Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker when asked how he pleaded to the five federal charges.
Although Judge Dale Ho said a speedy trial was in the interests of the public and the mayor, he did not set a date for the trial.
Adam’s next hearing is scheduled for November 1. There will be discussions about the mayor’s efforts to dismiss the bribery charges and whether prosecutors leaked information about the investigation to the media.
Attorney Alex Spiro asked them to end the process by March 2025 due to the certification process for next year’s mayoral elections – indicating Adam’s not yet barred from seeking re-election.
Last week, Sprio told the audience after Adams’ hearing that there are “no emails, text messages or any confirmation that the mayor knew anything about these campaign donations.”
“The entire body of evidence is one employee saying there was a conversation. What you haven’t learned is that the staffer lied and that the government owns that lie.
“When that employee was first interviewed, that employee said that Mayor Adams knew nothing about this, that he was not involved in this and that he is innocent.
“They have that information, they didn’t turn it over to us and they didn’t turn it over to you.”
Spiro alluded to Adams’ claim that he was targeted by the FBI because he spoke out against the Biden administration’s handling of the migrant crisis.
‘Why are they doing this? Why are they targeting him?’ he said.
Adams pleaded not guilty on September 27 to charges of fraud and bribery in a case that marks a stunning downfall 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 number of luxury gifts, including stays at luxury hotels in Istanbul.
According to prosecutors, Eric Adams accepted an array of lavish gifts and amenities from foreign governments hoping to buy influence with him
‘They suggested that he disappoints people, or that people should be disappointed in him. It’s not him doing this, it’s the government – the other government – that everyone should be disappointed in, by bringing this case against a sitting mayor.”
Scotten suggested Wednesday using former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery case as a basis to work out a schedule for the trial — and suggested it would start in May.
In addition, federal prosecutors said they had not yet received a full response from City Hall to subpoenas issued in July seeking information about the mayor’s contact with other foreign governments, including Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.
Sprio revealed Wednesday that they had not yet finished turning over records and documents in response to the subpoena, but he claimed that prosecutors were now viewing all of Adams’ interactions with immigrant communities as “suspicious.”
New York’s mayor allegedly abused the city’s system for matching campaign contributions with taxpayer money, “fraudulently obtaining as much as $2,000 in public funds for each illegal contribution,” according to the indictment.
He would “rely on the hidden nature of these illegal contributions to falsely portray his campaigns as law-abiding.”
“As a result of these false statements, 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 number of luxury gifts, including stays at luxury hotels in Istanbul.
Adams allegedly pressured the FDNY to open a Turkish government high-rise building in Manhattan in exchange for “luxury travel benefits” — despite the building failing safety inspections.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams alleged that Adams “took corrupt official action in exchange for some of the luxury travel benefits.”
He claimed there was “significant time pressure” to open the building in time for a visit by the Turkish president, at the insistence of a Turkish official.
According to prosecutors, Adams accepted an array of lavish gifts and amenities from foreign governments hoping to buy influence from him.
This included free travel, hotel suites and airline upgrades worth more than $100,000.
For example, in July 2017 he allegedly accepted free business class upgrades with companions for flights from New York to France, Turkey, Sri Lanka and China.