According to a USA Today report, the 57-page indictment against the Big Apple's mayor lists charges of federal bribery, fraud and campaign finance fraud. The indictment unsealed on Sept. 26 accuses Adams of corrupt acts going back 10 years. It also accuses him of being a willing agent for the Turkish government, "trading influence for illegal campaign funds and free trips around the world."
As per the indictment in the Southern District of New York, the mayor is alleged to have cheated $10 million from the city's public campaign finance program. He also allegedly received $100,000 in free travel to various countries such as France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey. The outlet said the indictment against Adams makes him "the city's first mayor to be criminally charged while in office."
"As Adams' prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationship with him. Adams agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received," the indictment noted.
During a Sept. 26 press conference, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams reiterated that the incumbent NYC mayor "abused his position as the city's highest elected official … to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions."
NYC Investigations Commissioner Jocelyn Stauber, who was appointed by Adams himself, stood beside Williams during the press conference. "We handled this investigation as we could any other," she told reporters.
According to the National Pulse, the mayor's indictment followed a raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the residence of former NYC Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Edward Caban – prompting his resignation on Sept. 13. A week later on Sept. 20, federal law enforcement raided the home of interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon. (Related: NYC Mayor Eric Adams' cell phones and iPad CONFISCATED by the FBI as part of federal corruption probe.)
Adams insists he's innocent, vows not to resign
"Federal prosecutors have been investigating possible illegal foreign donations to Adams' campaign from Turkey since last year," USA Today reported. According to the indictment, the mayor did repay his backers in Ankara by forcing city authorities to approve a new building for a Turkish consulate even though it couldn't pass a fire inspection. It happened in September 2021, after Adams won the city's Democratic primary.
At the time, Turkish officials were under pressure to open a new, 36-story consular skyscraper in Manhattan ahead of a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The indictment said Adams leaned on the NYC Fire Department to approve the building, with a top inspection official being threatened that "he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce" to the mayor's demand.
"After Adams intervened, the skyscraper opened as requested," the indictment stated. Despite the charges against him, the mayor – a former NYPD captain – vowed he wouldn't step down from his position.
Speaking to reporters as the indictment was unsealed, Adams stressed: "The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months, there have been leaks, commentary, the demonizing – this did not surprise us that we reached this day. I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before you make any judgments."
"I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target – and a target I became," he said in a separate statement. "If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit."
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