(New York) The first mayor in the history of New York indicted in the exercise of his mandate, Eric Adams pleaded not guilty Friday to corruption and illegal campaign financing, after having ruled out resigning at the head of the largest city of the United States.
“I am not guilty, your honor,” said the 64-year-old elected Democrat, navy blue suit and purple polka dot tie, in a courtroom crowded with journalists, where judge Katharine Parker solemnly read his rights and notified the five charges to “Mayor Adams”.
The judge then released the elected official, prohibiting him from having contact about the case with the witnesses cited in the indictment. The next procedural hearing has been scheduled for next Wednesday, and Eric Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, has promised to file a motion to dismiss the charges.
Eric Adams, elected mayor of New York in 2021, then left the court, located a few blocks from City Hall in Manhattan, without commenting, simply giving a thumbs up.
PHOTO TIMOTHY A. CLARY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
New York Mayor Eric Adams
“Sprinkled with gifts”
Former captain of the New York Police Department (NYPD), locally elected since 2006, Eric Adams is being prosecuted for having been “showered with gifts” for years by entrepreneurs and Turkish nationals, in the form of business class plane travel or stays in hotel suites, without ever declaring his gratuities as he was required to do, Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams said Thursday.
The indictment mentions acts of electronic fraud, illegal solicitation of contributions for an electoral campaign from foreign persons and the acceptance of bribes paid by an official linked to the Ankara government.
In exchange, Eric Adams is said to have used his influence with the city’s firefighters to accelerate the opening of a skyscraper housing Turkey’s mission to the United Nations and its consulate general, in time for a inauguration in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September 2021, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
According to federal prosecutors, a system of false certifications also allowed him to raise $10 million in public funds for his campaigns.
The mayor ruled out resigning and said he was “impatient” to defend himself, calling on his constituents to “listen to our side of the story”.
Calls to resign
But his indictment sounds like a bolt from the blue and further weakens the manager of the most populous city in the United States (8.5 million inhabitants), after months of speculation since the existence of four investigations, including three federal ones, on the mayor or his relatives, were revealed.
The second African-American mayor in the history of New York, elected in 2021 on promises of security, Eric Adams saw his popularity rate drop during his mandate, the megacity having had to cope with the arrival of more than 200,000 migrants in two years, a rising cost of living and a housing crisis that has pushed rents to unprecedented levels.
Several New York elected officials from the left wing of the Democratic Party have called on Eric Adams to resign, including US Congress Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. But New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove the mayor from office, has so far remained cautious.
The next election for New York mayor will take place in a year, in November 2025. Eric Adams’ political and legal troubles have whetted appetites to succeed him and several candidates have already declared themselves in a Democratic primary.
American media also cited the name of another potential candidate, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (2011-2021), who achieved national stature for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic but had to resign in the summer of 2021 after revelations of sexual assault or harassment against women.
(Re)read “Corruption Accusations: The Mayor of New York and His Public Affection for Turkey”