NEW YORK — The corruption saga surrounding former New York City Mayor Eric Adams shows no signs of slowing down, even though Adams is no longer in office and currently faces no criminal charges himself.
On Wednesday, federal authorities arrested Frank Carone, who served as Adams’ chief of staff, on charges alleging he took $120,000 in bribes in return for directing a multimillion-dollar contract for migrant shelter services to a hotel in Queens. Three additional individuals were also indicted in connection with the scheme, among them Carone’s own brother. All four have entered pleas of not guilty.
The arrest adds to a growing list of legal troubles for those who were once closest to Adams. Another former top ally, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is currently contesting separate bribery charges. Prosecutors allege she exchanged political influence for cash, diamond earrings, and a promised speaking role on a television program.
Adams himself was indicted in 2024 on bribery charges, with prosecutors accusing him of accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials while providing political favors in return — including helping to expedite the opening of Turkey’s diplomatic building in New York City. Adams, a Democrat, denied any wrongdoing. Those charges were later dismissed at the direction of the Trump administration, which argued the case was interfering with Adams’ ability to support federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The legal troubles that surrounded Adams’ administration began almost as soon as he took office in January 2022. Federal agents quietly launched a corruption investigation into his campaign, which became public in the fall of 2023 when authorities seized his phones as he was departing an event. Formal fraud and bribery charges followed a year later.
The indictment alleged that Adams allowed Turkish officials and other business figures to purchase his political favor through illegal campaign donations and heavily discounted international travel. Adams denied the allegations and claimed, without providing evidence, that the Biden administration had targeted him politically because of his public criticism of federal immigration policy.
Shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025, Justice Department leadership directed Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop the case.
The ongoing legal cloud severely damaged Adams’ reelection prospects. He bypassed the Democratic primary and ran as an independent, but ultimately withdrew from the race before it concluded.
As for Lewis-Martin, prosecutors say she was perhaps the most influential figure in Adams’ inner circle aside from Carone. She was indicted in 2024 on allegations that she traded her access and influence for bribes valued at more than $100,000 from individuals and entities doing business with the city. She has denied any wrongdoing.
In one alleged scheme, prosecutors say Lewis-Martin agreed to block a proposed bike lane near a Brooklyn soundstage — at the request of the studio’s owners — in exchange for benefits that included a promised role on the police drama “Blue Bloods.” In another scheme, prosecutors allege she accepted diamond earrings and cash from two real estate developers in exchange for expediting approvals on their projects, sometimes overriding safety concerns raised by city regulators.
Her attorney — who is also representing Carone — has argued that she was simply helping constituents navigate the city’s complex bureaucratic processes. A court hearing in her case is scheduled for Thursday. The case was brought by the Manhattan District Attorney.
Numerous other former Adams administration officials have had their homes searched and devices seized by federal agents, yet have not been charged with any crime. Among them: an adviser to the Chinese community who was seen handing a potato chip bag filled with cash to a reporter following a campaign event; the former police commissioner, whose twin brother was accused of extortion by a Brooklyn bar owner; and Adams’ schools chancellor and deputy mayor — who are brothers — whose third sibling ran a consulting firm that connected clients with city officials. Each has denied wrongdoing.
Federal authorities have not disclosed whether any of those investigations remain ongoing.
Even after the charges against Adams were dropped, prosecutors continued pursuing cases against lower-level figures connected to the original indictment. One Brooklyn real estate developer was sentenced last summer to a year of probation after pleading guilty to working with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal donations into Adams’ 2021 campaign. In November, an Adams aide who served as his liaison to the city’s Muslim communities received a three-year probation sentence for soliciting illegal campaign funds.
Before handing down that sentence, the presiding judge — who had also overseen the now-dismissed case against Adams — remarked on the former mayor’s conspicuous absence from the proceedings. “There’s a notable absence here of the person at the apex of the pyramid,” the judge said, describing the situation as an “elephant in the room.”
