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A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on Thursday on bribery and corruption charges.
The charges against Adams’ aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, were related to “alleged improper gifts.”
ABC News reported:
A former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to authorities Thursday to face corruption charges in the latest blow to the administration of a mayor who is facing his own indictment and investigations into multiple aides and allies.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned Sunday as Adams’ chief adviser and one of the most powerful officials in City Hall, was seen entering the lower Manhattan office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg early Thursday morning.
Bragg and the commissioner of the city’s watchdog Department of Investigation, Jocelyn Strauber, have scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon. The topic was not announced, but two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Lewis-Martin was expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges brought by Bragg’s office.
The people were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The specific charges against Lewis-Martin were not publicly announced and remain unclear.
In September, Eric Adams was indicted on charges including wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy out of the Southern District of New York, becoming the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal prosecution.
Charges include conspiracy theory, wire fraud, bribery and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. Read the indictment.
According to federal prosecutors Adams accepted $10 million in illegal “straw” campaign contributions and bribes from foreign countries, including Turkey, Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan going back nearly a decade.
“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 reads.
“As Adams’s prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City’s mayor,” the filing said, according to The New York Post.
“Adams agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received.”
Federal agents stormed Gracie Mansion—the official residence of New York City Mayor Eric Adams—early Thursday morning, executing a search warrant connected to his public corruption indictment.