New York mayor’s ex-assistant accused of destroying evidence

The arrests come amid new high-profile departures from the Adams administration as federal prosecutors dig deeper into allegations that the mayor was involved in a cover-up.

Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday as a liaison to the Muslim community, is accused of encouraging a businessman and campaign donors to lie to the FBI in June and delete a messaging app encrypted from his cellphone just as FBI agents arrived to search his house. in July. At one point, federal prosecutors said, Mr. Bahi told the businessman that Eric Adams believed he would not cooperate with law enforcement.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the mayor denied that he was involved in telling anyone to lie. “I would never ask anyone to do anything illegal or inappropriate,” he said.

Mohamed Bahi, 40, of Staten Island, was arrested Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court. He is the first person, other than Mr. Adams, to be charged in the investigation. Mayor Adams praised him as a “thoughtful” communicator who worked to “soothe the noise of some of the conflicts we see today.” “

Chain resigns

In recent weeks, more than half a dozen of the mayor’s top aides have left amid a series of investigations and subpoenas, as Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to pressure Eric Adams to reorganize his administration and bring stability to city management.

In the latest high-profile departure, Senior Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright resigned on Monday. The mayor on Tuesday named another deputy, Maria Torres-Springer, to replace Ms. Wright. She served as deputy mayor for economic development, housing and workforce development.

Ms. Torres-Springer’s first task is to immediately review personnel, programs and policies, Mr. Adams said. The mayor denied that Governor Hochul influenced or approved this choice.

He called Ms. Wright “consistently supportive” and said she had served New Yorkers well in her administration. “Sheena, good job. You make us proud,” he said.

Ms Wright’s departure came a day after Eric Adams confirmed that Philip Banks, the mayor’s deputy for public safety, and Winnie Greco, his director of Asian affairs, had closely monitored the construction efforts. – their own money for the mayor. Last week he announced that the state schools chancellor, David Banks, Ms Wright’s husband and Philip Banks’ brother, would be stepping down later this month.

The city’s police commissioner, Edward Caban, and senior adviser to the mayor, Timothy Pearson, also resigned. All of their devices were seized by federal investigators. Each has denied any wrongdoing.

A voicemail left with a representative for Sheena Wright was not immediately answered.

The Mayor pleads not guilty

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Mohamed Bahi’s allegations “should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any attempt to obstruct a federal investigation, especially when undertaken by an individual -government work.”

“Our commitment to finding the truth and following the facts wherever they lead is unfailing,” Williams said.

Eric Adams, a Democrat, vowed to stay in office after pleading not guilty Sept. 27 to charges that he accepted about $100,000 in free or discounted international travel, hotel stays , food and entertainment, and allegedly solicited illegal campaign contributions from foreign interests.

Gov. said Hochul, a Democrat who has the power to remove Mayor Adams from office, said last week that she was working with him to ensure that key positions “are filled with people who will be responsible.” “We expect changes, it’s no secret, and the changes are starting,” said Ms. Hochul.

Mr. Bahi’s criminal complaint alleges that he organized a fundraiser for Mr. Adams at the headquarters of a construction company in Brooklyn in December 2020, where the City Hall coalition suggested that owner the company asking its employees to make donations to Mr. Adams, then reimbursed workers for the $2,000 payments – slightly less than the maximum allowed by any individual donor in the city.

Four employees and the owner made donations to the campaign, with the employees’ payments reimbursed by the company, according to the complaint. They all then spoke to law enforcement, and the owner admitted he was involved in illegal ghost offerings, prosecutors say.

In his own indictment, Eric Adams is also accused of knowingly accepting illegal contributions from ghost donors – in his case, conspiring to accept campaign contributions from Turkish nationals and the hiding the payments as routing them through American citizens. This allowed Mr. Adams to unlock public funds that provide an eight-to-one match for small donations, according to prosecutors.

At a hearing last week, Assistant US Attorney Hagan Scotten said prosecutors were conducting several related investigations and that additional defendants were likely to be charged. charged and that additional charges may be brought against Mr. Adams.

Mr. Bahi’s criminal complaint says federal and city authorities began investigating phantom contributions to Eric Adams’ campaign in 2021, when he was running for mayor while holding another elected office, as president of the borough of Brooklyn. Mr Adams was sworn in as mayor in 2022.