Federal prosecutors say they have uncovered 'additional criminal conduct' by NYC Mayor Eric Adams, according to court papers

Manhattan federal prosecutors said they have uncovered "additional criminal conduct" by Mayor Eric Adams and found evidence of more coconspirators in his alleged scheme to defraud the city’s campaign finance system, court papers show.

Tucked into a 31-page brief filed Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Cohen said "law enforcement has continued to identify additional individuals involved in Adams’s conduct, and to uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams."

Last fall, prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging the mayor with five federal crimes involving public corruption, including gaming the matching-funds program of the city’s Campaign Finance Board, soliciting election donations from Turkish nationals and accepting luxury travel in exchange for expediting the opening of a new Turkish consulate.

Federal prosecutors charged that beginning when Adams was the Brooklyn borough president, he sought campaign donations from foreign nationals, which is a federal crime. To mask the source of the donations, prosecutors claim Adams used straw donors and received millions of dollars in city money for his 2021 mayoral campaign.

Adams is also accused of accepting more than $120,000 in upgrades on Turkish Airlines on trips to France, China, Sri Lanka, Hungary, Turkey and other foreign locales. He accepted free hotel stays and free restaurant meals, federal prosecutors said.

During a news conference Tuesday, the mayor said he was focused on his elected duties.

"I have done nothing wrong," he said. "I just have to run the city."

His defense lawyer Alex Spiro lost a bid in December to have the bribery charge tossed, claiming the travel and leisure gifts were "classic gratuities," not bribes, and that Adams had no authority at the time to order the city to open the consulate despite fire inspection problems.

In court papers, Spiro has argued the federal case against Adams hangs on a single witness, Rana Abbasova, an international affairs staffer, who he said "has an ax to grind."

Federal prosecutors in their Monday brief argued their case depends more on records than a single witness and they are reluctant to hand over more information to the mayor’s legal team for fear of witness tampering.

"The Indictment provides ample cause to believe that as potential witnesses became known to Adams and his allies, measures were taken to influence their testimony," prosecutors said.

On Tuesday, Adams denied the claims.

"I do not tell people to commit criminal actions," he said and again referred questions to his lawyer. "I just have to stay focused."

The potential of further charges against the mayor comes as no surprise.

Prosecutors said during an Oct. 2 court appearance last year that the investigation against the New York City mayor is ongoing and "it is possible as to additional charges and likely that additional defendants will be charged in connection with this scheme."

Adams’ administration has been beset by scandal, including most recently the indictment of his former top adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin for allegedly helping hotel developers push through a stalled project in exchange for a Porsche for her son and help setting up a Chick-fil-A franchise, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.