The Adams campaign listed the donation as from a May 2021 fundraiser organized by a co-owner of a Turkish-American company under probe for possible illegal foreign funds routed through employees. “He gave me the money in cash,” said the donor.
George Joseph
George is a senior reporter for THE CITY with a focus on criminal justice and courts.
Posted inEric Adams
An Adams Deputy Press Secretary Was a Foreign Agent for Turkish Trade Group in 2021
A year before joining the Mayor’s Office, one of Eric Adams’ press secretaries registered as a foreign agent for a trade group with close ties to the regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In January of 2021, while working as an associate for Mercury Public Affairs, Amaris Cockfield filed with the U.S. Department of […]
Posted inLaw Enforcement
Brooklyn DA Drops Gun Charge Against City Council Member, Citing ‘Inoperable’ Weapon
Southern Brooklyn Councilmember Inna Vernikov is going to be cleared of an illegal gun charge, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office told THE CITY on Friday — despite social media photos from last month that appeared to show the Republican with a gun on her waist at a counter-protest against pro-Palestinian college students. A New York […]
Posted inAdams Turkey Probe
Turkey Probe: Eric Adams Campaign Took Money from Leaders of Erdogan-Backed Foundation
Eric Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign accepted donations from three members of a foundation incorporated by Bilal Erdogan, a son of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and whose board members include Erdogan’s daughter, Esra Albayrak. The campaign is at the center of an FBI probe looking into whether it conspired with the Turkish government to accept […]
Posted inCity Council
Two Competing City Council Campaigns in Brooklyn Paid the Same Lawyer and Consultants
Amber Adler, a Democrat, and Igor Kazatsker, an independent on the “Team Trump” line, are theoretically running against each other — and against incumbent Republican Inna Vernikov in this month’s City Council race for South Brooklyn’s 48th District. But the two campaigns share the same attorney, and have given thousands of dollars to the same […]
Posted inAdams Turkey Probe
Before FBI Probe, Eric Adams Campaign Accepted and Returned $10,000 in Donations Linked to Turkish University
Less than two months before the 2021 general election, the Eric Adams campaign received five $2,000 donations from people listed as employees of Bay Atlantic University, a small Turkish-owned institution based in Washington, D.C. Now, the university-linked contributions are under scrutiny as part of an investigation conducted by federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. to determine […]
Posted inAdams Turkey Probe
Eric Adams Campaign Ignored Warnings About Donations That Triggered FBI Probe
Internal documents obtained by THE CITY show that city regulators repeatedly asked Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign about a cluster of donations that are now part of a federal probe into one of the mayor’s top fundraisers. The investigation, which triggered an FBI raid at the home of Adams’ campaign operative Brianna Suggs on Thursday, is […]
Posted inImpact
Queens Public Administrator to Depose Speculator Bros About Forgery Claims Uncovered by THE CITY
A home in Douglaston, Queens, estimated to be worth more than a million dollars, has become the focal point of a showdown between city officials and a trio of real estate speculators accused of predatory practices and fraud. Through an LLC called The Queens Foundation, one of those speculators had acquired interests in the property […]
Posted inPolitics
Adams Campaign Contributors Plead Guilty to Straw Donor Conspiracy Charge
Shahid and Yahya Mushtaq, two brothers who run a construction company in Queens, each pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a misdemeanor conspiracy charge stemming from a straw donor scheme that generated illicit public matching funds for Eric Adams’ successful 2021 mayoral campaign. The Mushtaqs’ pleas before state Supreme Court Judge Althea Drysdale in Manhattan require […]
Posted inThe Bronx
Combative Bronx Judge Faces Calls for Removal
A notoriously combative Bronx judge is facing new calls to be reassigned after his latest confrontation with an attorney. Acting Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio, whose reported outbursts have led to complaints from prosecutors and public defenders alike, told the attorney he was yanking her off a murder case because of her refusal to move […]