Embattled Eric Adams deputy mayor resigns amid growing federal investigation
4 AIDES OF NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS OUT IN DRAMATIC DAY OF DEPARTURES
Story by Chris Sommerfeldt and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, October 7, 2024
Among those leaving are two longtime aides ensnared in federal probes: Rana Abbasova, the director of protocol in Adams’ International Affairs Office, was fired Monday, and Winnie Greco, the mayor’s liaison to local Chinese communities, has resigned, the sources said.
Greco was called in on Friday and told to resign, sources familiar with the matter said. Greco, who has worked for Adams in both governmental and political capacities since his tenure as Brooklyn borough president, was spotted at City Hall that day, at one point appearing comforted by Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ embattled chief adviser. Their heads were lowered and Lewis-Martin rested a hand on Greco’s shoulder as they left the building.
Like Greco, Mohamed Bahi, senior Muslim liaison to the mayor, resigned from his post effective Monday, a source close to the matter said. And Ahsan Chughtai, a senior mayoral adviser for South Asian and Muslim affairs, was fired on Sept. 30, multiple sources said.
“Both Winnie Greco and Mohamed Bahi today tendered their resignations. We thank them for their service to the city,” Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Adams, said late Monday.
Levy would not divulge a reason for the firings of Abbasova and Chughtai, who has also worked on political efforts for the mayor. Levy didn’t elaborate on why Bahi and Greco resigned, either.
Abbasova was placed on unpaid leave after the feds raided her home last year in connection with the probe scrutinizing whether Adams accepted and solicited bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish government operatives in exchange for political favors.
Prosecutors say Abbasova, who is not named in the mayor’s five-count criminal indictment, coordinated with Turkish officials to set up straw donations and travel upgrades for Adams. She is cooperating with federal authorities and is considered a key witness against Adams, The News previously reported.
Abbasova’s firing comes after prosecutors turned over evidence Adams’ lawyers said could be used to discredit her. Alex Spiro, Adams’ lawyer, had said previously that a staffer was “lying,” referring to Abbasova.
“These prosecutors, finally, after much delay and misdirection, have admitted they were hiding Brady material about the key witness in the case that proves Mayor Adams is innocent,” Spiro said in a statement.
Adams, who was indicted in the case late last month, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy and soliciting political contributions from foreigners.
Rachel Maimin, Abbasova’s attorney, declined to comment.
Greco’s Pelham Bay homes were raided in February. On the same day, the feds also raided the New World Mall in Queens — where Greco helped host lucrative fundraisers for Adams’ 2021 campaign that generated some illegal straw donations, as reported by the news outlet The City.
The full scope of the Greco probe remains unclear, though investigators are known to also be looking at trips she has taken to China with the mayor funded in part by the country’s Communist government.
Greco returned to her post as Asian affairs director in May after being placed on paid leave following the FBI raids on her properties.
Chughtai has been an influential Adams campaign surrogate in the city’s Pakistani communities, and he also donated $1,000 to the mayor’s reelection campaign in June 2023, records show. He didn’t return a request for comment late Monday, and neither did Bahi.
Word of the latest City Hall shakeup came just hours after news broke early Monday that Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks resigned over the weekend.
He is one of five top Adams advisers who had their homes raided and electronics seized on Sept. 4 as part of several federal corruption investigations.
Schools Chancellor David Banks, senior Adams adviser Tim Pearson and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who were all raided that day, too, had already announced their resignations prior to Deputy Mayor Banks’ exit. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, the fifth adviser raided on Sept. 4, was initially expected to resign this past Friday, but has yet to formally step down.
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