NYC Mayor Adams Charged: Timeline of Events in Federal Corruption Investigation

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a federal grand jury, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The indictment comes amid a series of federal investigations that began late last year and have now plunged City Hall into crisis.

The federal investigation into the Adams administration first came to public attention on November 2, 2023, when FBI agents raided the Brooklyn home of Adams’ chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs in the early morning hours.

According to ABC News sources, the case resulted in an indictment, but the charges have not yet been made public.

Below is a timeline of events leading up to the mayor’s indictment.

Chronology of events in the federal investigation into Mayor Adams:

2 November 2023 – FBI agents search the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Mayor Eric Adams. They also search the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, the mayor’s international affairs adviser. Adams flew to Washington, DC, and then back again despite having discussions with the White House on immigration issues.

6 November 2023 – The FBI seizes Mayor Adam’s electronic devices, including his iPad and cellphone, as part of the federal investigation into whether the mayor’s campaign received foreign donations from Turkey, sources say.

15 November 2023 – Mayor Adams establishes a legal defense fund to cover costs related to the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation into his 2021 mayoral campaign.

February 29, 2024 – The FBI raids the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, the Adams administration’s director of Asian affairs.

5 April 2024 – ABC News reports that the FBI is investigating whether Adams received free upgrades on Turkish Airlines.

July 2024 – Federal prosecutors are serving grand jury subpoenas to Adams as part of an ongoing corruption investigation that sources say is focused on whether his campaign solicited illegal donations from Turkey to pressure the Fire Department to expedite an inspection of the new Turkish consulate in New York City. The mayor told WABC there are no criminal allegations.

4 September 2024 – The FBI searched the homes of two of the mayor’s closest aides: the Upper Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is engaged to Schools Chancellor David Banks, whose home and work phones were seized. They also searched the homes of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and business consultant Terence Banks in the Queen’s Residence. Evidence and electronic devices were seized.

5 September 2024 – Federal investigators seized the cell phones of four high-ranking NYPD officers, including then-NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and his twin brother James Caban. The cell phone of Tim Pearson, a close aide to Adams, was also seized.

12 September 2024 – Commissioner Caban resigns and tells officers that he does not want the investigation to “cause a distraction”.

“The noise surrounding recent developments has made this impossible and hampered the important work our city needs,” he said.

14 September 2024 – Lisa Zornberg, City Hall’s general counsel, is resigning after a year on the job. She had advised Adams and other city officials on legal matters for more than a year and frequently fended off legal questions from the press on his behalf. She was not his personal attorney.

“It has been a great honor to serve the city. I am submitting my resignation effective immediately as I have concluded that I can no longer effectively perform my position. I wish you all the best,” Zornberg wrote in a three-sentence resignation letter to Adams.

16 September 2024 – Two retired FDNY chiefs, Brian Cordasco and Anthony Saccavino, are arrested after a years-long corruption investigation.

20 September 2024 – Federal prosecutors subpoena the director of the New York Office for Asylum Seekers, Molly Schaeffer.

21 September 2024 – Federal agents search the home of acting NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon. He says it has nothing to do with the police.

23 September 2024 – New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan announces his resignation and will leave office by January 2025 as he wants to spend more time with his family. He said his decision was not in response to the ongoing investigation into the Adams administration.

24 September 2024 – New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks announces his resignation.

25 September 2024 – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the most prominent official calling for Adams’ resignation. In a statement released on X on Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez said, “I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue to govern New York City,” amid the wave of resignations and investigations into the upper echelons of his administration.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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