VOA News | Thursday, September 26, 2024 
NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with taking bribes, illegal campaign funds from foreign sources

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted Thursday on federal charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan alleges in the indictment that Adams “compounded his gains” from the illegal contributions by gaming the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small dollar donations. His campaign received more than $10,000 in matching funds as a result of the false certifications, according to the indictment. Adams allegedly “solicited and demanded” bribes, including free and heavily discounted luxury travel benefits from a Turkish official, the indictment alleges, noting that the official was seeking Adams’ help pertaining to regulations of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan. FBI agents entered the mayor’s official residence and seized his phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public. “Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again),” Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, said in a statement hours before the indictment was made public. “They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.” In a video speech released Wednesday night, Adams vowed to fight any charges against him, claiming he had been made a “target” – Read more