Eric Adams had been a police officer, a state senator and a borough president before becoming mayor of New York. He has faced investigations at each stop.
The federal indictment unveiled Thursday against Adams — on corruption charges of wire fraud and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals — is far beyond his brushes with other matters. But it also is just the latest ethical controversy for Adams.
There was the police tribunal that docked him for speaking without authorization when he was a cop. There was the city Department of Investigation determination that Adams, when Brooklyn borough president, violated conflict of interest laws but no charges ensued.
And there was the State Inspector General report in 2009 that found Adams, then a state senator involved in the awarding of video slot machines at Aqueduct Racetrack, gave non-credible testimony to investigators about the matter, accepted campaign cash from a gambling company and displayed “exceedingly poor judgment” by attending a victory party for the winning vendor. However, unlike other senators involved, Adams was not accused of ethical violations.
“Adams has kind of lived a charmed life in terms of actually having to pay a price for flirting with questionable activity,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group.
An Adams spokesman didn’t immediately return calls to comment.
Adams became the first modern New York mayor ever indicted in office when the U.S. Attorney’s Office leveled five corruption charges against the Democrat. The mayor has said the charges are untrue and that he won’t resign, though he is sure to be under great pressure to do so.
He has said his attorneys will be handling his legal matters while he runs the city.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the allegations were “shocking in scale” but didn’t immediately call for the mayor to step down.
Here’s a look at some of the Adams controversies.
Casino
In 2010, Adams was a state senator and head of the Racing and Wagering Committee, which had a role in selecting a bidder to operate video slot machines at Aqueduct.
Then-Gov. David A. Paterson and the State Legislature chose AEG, but the award was later disqualified following a scandal unearthed by a state inspector general’s report that found the selection was driven by lobbyists and political favors.
Two other senators eventually were accused of ethical violations. Adams wasn’t. However, the inspector general said he had “maneuvered” the governor to support AEG.
The inspector general noted that Adams hosted a birthday bash during the process where he received political donations, some from lobbyists. Also, the IG said Adams and other senators used “exceedingly poor judgment” by going to a celebratory dinner with AEG principals and lobbyists at the home of a lobbyist even before the contract had been finalized.
Adams always has defended his actions, once saying, “My conduct during this process was always proper and above reproach.”
But watchdogs called it a black mark for state government that is still remembered well around the halls of Albany.
“It was a damning report of how the Senate handled it and it set back the casino process for years,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “It painted a picture of Albany politics at its worst.”
NYPD
Adams had a 22-year career as a police officer and faced several internal probes, according to multiple media reports. One focused on his associations with people who had been convicted of crimes, including former boxer Mike Tyson. Investigators didn’t conclude Adams broke any rules.
But a police tribunal in 2006 found he was guilty of violating rules by speaking for the NYPD without authorization. Adams was docked some vacation pay.
In a 2021 New York Times interview, Adams said: “You do an analysis of my Internal Affairs Bureau investigations, you’ll see they all come out with the same thing. Eric did nothing wrong.”
Brooklyn
When Adams became borough president, he created the One Brooklyn Fund to help residents access services. But the nonprofit attracted investigators’ attention over its promotion of Adams and its fundraisers.
The city Department of Investigation found the nonprofit failed to comply with conflict-of-interest rules by holding an event at Borough Hall where some attendees, some of whom were seeking grants, were asked about giving financial support to the entity.
In another incident, the DOI determined Adams’ office wrongly tried to license use of Borough Hall to the mayor’s office for an anti-domestic violence event, with the licensing fee to be paid to One Brooklyn.
Adams didn’t face action for either incident.
