Federal prosecutors have indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams following corruption investigations that have triggered the retirements and resignations of several members of his administration.
Adams, a former police captain, made the headlines in 2021 when he pledged to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) when he became mayor.
Charges Remain Unclear
According to reports from the New York Times, it is still unclear what Adams is being charged with since the indictments were sealed.
News of an investigation into the mayor surfaced in November 2023 when FBI agents raided the home of Brianna Suggs, his chief campaign fundraiser. The raid was part of an investigation into whether Turkish government agents had donated to Adams’s mayoral campaign through intermediaries.
Additionally, two former officials of the New York City Fire Department, Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco, were charged with bribery and corruption. Federal investigators accused the duo of receiving more than $190,000 in bribes for preferential treatment on building inspections and approvals.
There were also concerns that Adams had pressed members of the department to greenlight the 35-story Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns. However, the scrutiny became more intense in the last few weeks, forcing several city officials, including the police commissioner and the mayor’s chief advocate, to quit.
Adams has taken a defiant stance against the indictment and has vowed to stay in office and fight all charges that will be brought against him.
“If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
Previously, his legal team claimed that it had conducted its own probe, which showed that the mayor was not guilty of any illegal conduct.
Mayor Pushing to Turn New York City Into Crypto Centre
The 69-year-old, who is only the second Black mayor in the city’s 400-year history, has been a long-term champion for crypto. When he took office in 2021, he promised to turn New York into the “center of the cryptocurrency industry,” even converting his first paycheck into Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin via Coinbase.
However, his crypto holdings did get him into a spot of bother when, in July 2023, he was forced to update his annual financial disclosure after omitting to report them.
Even with crypto suffering from the after-effects of the FTX collapse in 2022, Adams doubled down on the asset, stating, “These industries are not going to go away because they reached a low point.”
At the time, he argued that all sectors have their share of upheavals and bad actors, pointing to losses he’d made in the stock market as an example.
His administration has repeatedly defended blockchain, describing it as a helpful tool for improving government services and stimulating the economy. The first-term Democrat is also an advocate for the removal of New York State’s stringent BitLicence rule, saying it disadvantages the state and the city.
