Eric Adams has been indicted following a federal corruption investigation, a new report has revealed.
The indictment remained sealed Wednesday night, insiders told The New York Times – as its contents still remain unknown.
When the charges are made public, however, Adams will become the first New York City mayor to be charged criminally while still in office.
‘I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target—and a target I became,’ Adams said in a statement Wednesday.
‘If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.’
The Times, the first to report on the indictment’s existence, also said feds declined to comment. The development came days after some of the mayor’s major allies were targeted in raids by federal authorities.
Earlier this month, agents stormed the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, in a series of raids that for now remain under wraps.
Both reportedly had their electronic devices taken, as was the case with Adams back in November, when he had his phone snatched following a raid of the home of his campaign treasurer, Brianna Suggs.
That operation, feds said, was part of a probe into the mayor’s campaign finances, after which the former chief fundraiser for Adams’ 2021 mayoral bid found herself with a job focused on filing paperwork.
the mayor spoke about her reassignment in interview at the time, insisting she was no longer raising money for him without sharing specifics.
‘She’s going to do — there’s so much administrative paperwork, documentation,’ the mayor told PIX11 in the sit-down interview that aired in December.
‘All of that documentation, she knows it well and she’s going to be part of that processing,’ he added.
More federal investigations and resignations have ensued since, spurring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to call on Adams to resign on Wednesday, prior to the Times report.
‘The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function,’ Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. ‘Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.’
She had been referring to the resumed raids that started earlier this month, which came in tandem with the sudden resignation of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who had been tapped to head the New York Police Department just months before.
Other recent resignations include those of two ex-FDNY chiefs accused of bribery, corruption and false statements Brian Cordasco, 49, and Anthony Saccavino, 59, whose homes were raided in February.
The raids surrounded claims of ‘corrupt building safety inspections,’ sources told DailyMail.com – adding the two had received over $190,000 in bribes in exchange for giving ‘special treatment’ to certain property owners and developers.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York went on to confirmed those charges on September 16, in a statement issued by FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy.
‘The FDNY officials charged today allegedly took bribes to expedite the inspection process, undermining the fairness and integrity that are fundamental to our system,’ he said during a filmed presser.
‘By doing so, they not only compromised public safety but also eroded the public’s trust in those who are sworn to protect us.’
The unsealed indictment alleged that from 2021 to 2023, the two chiefs abused their power to make tens of thousands of dollars, and at one point claims that ‘for nearly two years, Saccavino and Cordasco misused their authority as Chiefs for their private financial gain.’
Saccavino and Cordasco were directly responsible for overseeing inspections and ensuring the safety of buildings across the city, but gave preferential treatment to parties offering payouts.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers faced abnormally long wait times to get their buildings inspected due to back-up from the pandemic.
The FDNY reportedly tipped off the the DOI about the alleged scheme, revealing groups had been paying out the corrupted chiefs.
Meanwhile federal agents also confiscated the cell phone of NYPD chief Raul Pintos and two precinct commanders in Queens and Manhattan – the same day Caban’s phone was seized.
Caban went on to resign days later, after Adams appeared to distance himself from the top cop in a statement.
‘I chose him for his experience and what he brought after 30-something years of service,’ he said at the time.
‘Rumors are always out there,’ he added. ‘There was nothing that came from me that fed those rumors.’
‘I don’t think anything in life is guaranteed.’
Sources told Pix11 the raid on Caban stemmed from a separate probe than the investigation into Adams’ campaign financing, as another top Adams’ aide, Timothy Pearson, also had his phones subpoenaed, according to the New York Post.
