Mohamed Bahi, ex-NYC official, charged with destroying evidence, witness tampering, federal prosecutors say

An ex-New York City official and former campaign volunteer for Mayor Eric Adams was charged on Tuesday with destroying evidence and witness tampering in the ongoing federal investigation into foreign campaign contributions and straw donors, federal prosecutors said.

Mohamed Bahi, 40, a senior liaison in the Community Affairs Unit, who resigned on Tuesday, helped coordinate donations from the owner of a construction company and allegedly laundered donations to a 2021 election campaign and deleted the encrypted Signal app from his phone when the FBI came to seize it with a court order, Special Agent Jacob Balog said in an affidavit.

The allegations against Bahi mirror federal fraud and bribery charges against Adams, which were unsealed on Sept. 26. In the indictment against the mayor, federal prosecutors describe a business owner who owns a construction company in Brooklyn attempting to give $10,000 to Adams’ 2021 election campaign to "increase his influence."

Instead, prosecutors charge, Bahi instructed that the business owner and four employees each give $2,000 with the understanding that they would be reimbursed.

On June 13, federal investigators raided the businessman’s company and, according to prosecutors, Bahi allegedly met with the owner and his four employees later that day to tell them to deny the illicit donations.

"Bahi advised the business owner that if he continued to tell that lie to federal investigators the Businessman would be OK," according to the criminal complaint. He also told them that if they continued to lie to the FBI, there would be no way for investigators to prove the alleged fraud, prosecutors charge.

A little more than a week later, Bahi deleted the app Signal, an encrypted messaging application, from his phone when agents raided his Staten Island home, according to the charges. Bahi used the Signal app to communicate with the business owner, the FBI alleges.

Adams sought to defend Bahi's work in City Hall, though he did not directly address the charges.

"Mohamed Bahi was one of the top Muslims liaison [sic], even before joining the mayor’s office," Adams said at his weekly news briefing Tuesday. "I always found him to be thoughtful. I always found him to be willing to go into all the communities. But what he has done is really bring down the noise in some of the conflicts we're seeing today, I think the record will speak loudly for what he has committed."

At least four sprawling investigations by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn have upended the Adams administration and prompted many of his top officials to resign.

"As alleged, Mohamed Bahi obstructed a federal criminal investigation by instructing witnesses to lie and then destroying evidence," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Damian Williams said. "The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee. Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering."

Fabian Levy, spokesman for the mayor, said that Bahi and Winnie Greco, who worked as a liaison with the city’s Chinese community, resigned on Monday.

"We thank them for their service to the city," he told Newsday.

Many of New York’s federal, state and local officials have called for the mayor to step down due to the cloud of corruption.

Local legislators said that the investigations had placed a cloud over the city government.

"This isn't normal, even by New York City standards," City Councilman Robert Holden, a Democrat who represents neighborhoods in Queens, said after the news of Bahi's indictment. "The culture of corruption is out of control, and City Hall officials are either resigning or being charged with crimes. With so many challenges facing this city, we can't afford for this to continue. New Yorkers deserve better, and they need it now."

With Matthew Chayes