FBI raids homes of New York City First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and deputy mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, source says

The FBI raided the homes of three high-ranking officials in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration as part of a criminal investigation, a source familiar with the matter said.

Federal agents searched the homes of Philip Banks, deputy mayor for public safety and Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor, who lives with New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks.

"Investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation," Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel to the mayor, said Thursday in a statement issued by Adams' press office. "As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law."

Electronic devices from both houses were seized in the searches, according to The Associated Press.

Wright and the Bankses, who are brothers, could not be reached for comment.

Additionally, a pair of high-ranking NYPD officials were asked to hand over their phones to federal authorities, according to spokesman Tarik Sheppard. He declined to name the officials and could not say if the seizure was related to the other search warrants.   A law enforcement official who didn't want to be identified said that federal investigators seized the phone of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.

"The Department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service," Sheppard said. "The Department is fully cooperating in the investigation."

Federal investigators also raided the home of Tim Pearson, a law enforcement adviser to the mayor who once worked in the NYPD, The Associated Press reported.

Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams declined to comment on the raids.

The mayor's private attorneys with the firm WilmerHale referred all questions to City Hall. The FBI New York field office did not respond to a request for comment.

Late Thursday afternoon, Adams was besieged at City Hall by reporters shouting questions, which went unanswered.

"I’m going to continue to be the mayor of the city of New York, the greatest city on the globe," Adams said. He added: "The goal is what I’ve always done and that is follow the law."

"As I’ve lived my entire life, and I have confidence in the team here, we’re gonna follow the rules and comply with any questions that are asked of us."

Adams flashed a thumbs-up for news cameras: "Did you get that thumbs-up?"

Newsday previously reported that the federal probes into the Adams administration have focused on favors to the Turkish government, pressure on FDNY personnel to sign off on fire inspections, free high-dollar seat upgrades on Turkish Airways, straw donors and potentially illegal campaign contributions.

News of the raid was first reported by the local news website The City. A source familiar with the matter who asked said the federal investigation is unrelated to two other probes — one by Manhattan prosecutors and another by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.

That would make this the third federal investigation into the Adams administration, which has vowed that the mayor is cooperating with authorities.

News of a federal inquiry into Adams’ administration first surfaced in the fall of 2023 when the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a member of his successful mayoral campaign, was raided. The warrant indicated that federal investigators were focusing on a Turkish construction company.

Two weeks later FBI agents asked the mayor’s security detail to step aside by his SUV after a public event so that they could seize his phones and other electronic devices.

Agents also served warrants on the New Jersey home of mayoral aide Rana Abbasova, who helped make inroads into the Turkish community.

The homes of City Hall Asian Affairs adviser Winnie Greco, who worked as a liaison between the administration and the Asian community, was raided by the FBI in February.

During the summer, prosecutors subpoenaed the mayor as part of an investigation into his successful 2021 political campaign and his administration.

At the time, attorneys for Adams said that the mayor was cooperating with investigators and maintained that he had broken no laws.

"Over the past nine months, we have conducted our own investigation of the areas we understand the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been reviewing. Our investigation has included an evaluation of campaign documents, an analysis of tens of thousands of electronic communications, and witness interviews," lawyers Brendan McGuire and Boyd Johson said in a statement issued in August. "To be clear, we have not identified any evidence of illegal conduct by the Mayor."

Pearson and Philip Banks have both been controversial in their tenures with the Adams administration.

Banks stepped down from his position at the NYPD in 2014 amid a federal corruption investigation and was later named by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in a police bribery scheme. He accepted expensive meals, tickets to sporting events and other gifts from two businessmen who were trying to obtain police escorts, special parking privileges and other favors from the NYPD, according to the FBI.

Pearson has been accused of sexual harassment in four different lawsuits filed this year, according to court records. He stepped down from a lucrative position at a Queens casino after The New York Times reported that he was also earning $240,000 working for the Adams administration and collecting his police pension.