New York Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, US media reported on Wednesday, following multiple probes into alleged corruption within his administration and the resignations of top officials.
The exact charges in the sealed indictment were not yet clear, the New York Times reported.
Adams is now the first sitting New York mayor to face such charges.
Photo: AP
At least four federal probes are underway against the Democratic ex-cop, including three led by the US District Court in Manhattan, investigating people in the mayor’s orbit and high-ranking officials in his administration.
Declaring himself “innocent” Adams said in a statement on Wednesday: “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became.”
“If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit,” he added.
Details of the indictment are expected to be revealed by federal prosecutors today, US media said.
Adams, who is up for re-election next year, has put up a front of business as usual throughout the investigations.
Earlier in the day, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on the 64-year-old mayor to resign “for the good of the city” — the first time a national figure has publicly urged him to step down from running the US’ largest city.
“The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function,” she said. “Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.”
The indictment comes after an already dark week for Adams, whose team has been shaken by the resignations of New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and New York City Education Chancellor David Banks, a close friend of the mayor whose department manages the city’s public education system that serves 1 million students.
Those departures, effective at the end of this year, follow the immediate resignations of former New York City police commissioner Edward Caban — who quit just one year after he took charge of the city’s police force and its 36,000 uniformed officers — and Adams’ chief legal adviser, Lisa Zornberg.
Caban, whose electronics were seized by federal investigators, stepped down as federal agents appeared to be zeroing in on his twin brother’s nightclub security business.
Revelations of the probes have laid bare personal and business ties among the inner circle of the mayor, raising potential conflicts of interest.
One investigation involves the activities of a consulting firm run by Terence Banks, whose brother David was New York City schools chancellor, and whose other brother Philip was appointed in 2022 by Adams as deputy mayor for public safety.
Adams himself appears to be the target of one probe into whether his 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with Turkey’s government to receive illegal foreign donations. The mayor is accused of urging the approval of a new high-rise Turkish consulate, ignoring potential safety issues.
Adams, the second black mayor in the city’s history, won the 2021 Democratic primary vowing to reduce crime.
Under his leadership violent crime in the city has fallen, after rising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the city of 8.5 million people faces a housing crisis that has seen rents skyrocket to unprecedented levels.
Adams already faces a smattering of primary contenders in the run-up to next year’s vote.
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