Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has been indicted on federal corruption charges, declared his innocence, and vows to fight to the bitter end.
Adams claims that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is targeting him because he has been outspoken about the damage that unfettered illegal immigration across the southern border is doing to New York City.
Adams said he was being targeted for “putting the people of New York before party and politics”.
The DOJ went back 10 years to find five counts – two for soliciting campaign contributions from a foreign agent and one count each of bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy.
The nature of the charges is that Adams accepted hotel and flight upgrades without paying for the difference in cost between the flight/room he would have had and the upgrade. These violations are campaign finance violations.
The charges against Adams go back to his time as Brooklyn borough president in 2014. The indictment reads, “… 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,” says the indictment.
Who is alleged to have benefited and who has been wronged by Adams taking these unreported upgrades and alleged donations from foreign entities?
Turkey plays a key role in this indictment and rumors of a connection between these allegations and Turkey looking to build a new consulate in New York abound. It is alleged that Adams expedited the fire department inspections for the Turkish consulate building, that he knowingly sought campaign contributions from people who are not US citizens, and that he exchanged face-time and certain actions in exchange for these donations.
South Shore Press sought comment from Suffolk County elected officials to get their perspective. Suffolk County Legislator (15th District), Jason Richberg and Suffolk Democrat Party Chair, Rich Schaeffer, were both contacted via multiple means for a comment on this story and did not return calls or emails.
Assemblyman Doug Smith (R-Brookhaven, Islip) and Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C,I-Smithtown) did weigh in with comment.
Assemblyman Smith said of the Adams indictment, “I am devastated every time a public official is charged with abusing their office for personal enrichment.”
“This does not look like "political persecution" as Mayor Adams suggests. While it is true that he has called into question the Biden Administration's disastrous handling of the migrant crisis which has caused billions of dollars in irreparable financial harm to New York taxpayers and led to a crime wave across the city of New York, it appears that this federal investigation and indictment follows a decade of abuse of the various public offices that Mayor Adams has held to fund a lavish lifestyle in exchange for official acts for foreign agents. It is a sad day for the Great State of New York, Smith added.”
Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C,I-Smithtown) said “I know people are speculating that when Adams started pushing back on the migrant issue maybe the Fed said, you know what, we can teach this guy a lesson.”
“We'll see as this plays out. The wheels of justice will grind slowly and he (Adams) deserves the presumption of innocence like anybody else does.” Fitzpatrick added. “Trump has long complained that the justice system has been weaponized against him and, you know, it has people wondering the same thing in this Adams situation. If it can be done to a former president, it can be done to anybody, right.”
“I don't care what the pundits say, although I enjoy listening to them. Let's see what the legal experts say on this case because that's really all that matters, right? You don't know and that's what a trial will determine,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Look if he got an upgrade as a favor for something that will all come out. If any of this is legitimate, then that’s just how it is. But, we’ve also seen in other cases where the Feds slowly leak things to try and build their case so that when they announce the indictment, the public thinks he's already guilty, right?”, says Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick emphasized that everyone is entitled to the same treatment under the law and that is no different for Adams anymore than it is for anyone else. This isn’t a party issue, this is a justice issue was the common thread.