New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he accepted lavish travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
Adams, 64, entered the plea on Friday in federal court in Manhattan a day after an indictment was unsealed that detailed a pattern of alleged conduct that sparked calls for his resignation from his political rivals. The first-term Democrat has vowed to continue to serve as mayor of the nation’s largest city.
“I am not guilty, your honor,” Adams told US Judge Katharine H. Parker at the hearing.
Photo: Bloomberg
Prosecutors allege that dating back to when Adams served as Brooklyn borough president, he accepted improper benefits including luxury travel from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.
He is also accused of secretly accepting illegal contributions to his 2021 campaign.
Adams, a former police officer, arrived at the courthouse early on Friday morning to surrender to authorities and have his fingerprints taken. Adams, flanked by his lawyer Alex Spiro, sat stoically as Parker read the charges for several minutes.
Spiro said he would file a motion to dismiss the charges next week. He said he would also ask for a speedy trial.
Adams was released on his own recognizance, but was instructed not to contact witnesses or people named in the indictment. He will not have to surrender his passport.
Prosecutors said they would make reasonable accommodations that would allow Adams to talk to family or staff members that could be witnesses. However, that could complicate his ability to manage the city as the case drags on.
Adams potentially faces decades in prison if convicted of the charges.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars, accepting a bribe comes with a maximum of a decade, and the other charges top out at five years, prosecutors said.
The prosecutors outlined improper relationships that Adams allegedly had with a Turkish diplomat, including accepting free upgrades and tickets to business class for himself and companions on round-trip flights from New York to China, France, Hungary, India, Sri Lanka and Turkey, and discounted hotel stays.
“This case isn’t even a real case, this case is an airline upgrade case,” Spiro told reporters after the hearing.
Spiro said the government’s evidence comes down to a single Adams staffer that is cooperating with the investigation.
“That staffer has lied, and the government is in the possession of that lie,” Spiro said.
Adams did not speak to the media after the hearing, but flashed a thumbs up before Spiro addressed reporters.
The indictment is detailed. Prosecutors claim that during an August 2017 trip, Adams and a relative accepted “a heavily discounted stay” at the St Regis Hotel in Istanbul, which was owned by a Turkish businesswoman who “sought to ingratiate herself with Adams.”
He stayed at the “Bentley Suite” for two nights that should have cost US$7,000, but instead the mayor paid US$600, the indictment said.
The case is US v. Adams, 24-cr-566, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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