Federal law enforcement officials conducted raids on several of New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams‘ top aides this week in what appears to be a new criminal investigation that is unrelated to the federal corruption investigation into Adams and his campaign’s alleged ties to the Turkish government.
A local NBC News affiliate reported that the FBI executed search warrants at the home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks and a home shared by First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
The New York Times reported that investigators also seized phones belonging to New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban and Timothy Pearson, a senior adviser to the mayor.
The Times added that a consultant, Terence Banks, was also searched. Terence Banks is brothers with Philip Banks and David Banks.
“Investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation,” claimed City Hall lawyer Lisa Zornberg. “As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.”
The criminal investigation is being run out of the Southern District of New York, which focuses on government corruption cases and is also conducting the separate criminal investigation into Adams.
The New York Times reported last month that prosecutors in the case involving the Turkish government recently served a new round of grand jury subpoenas in their criminal investigation, including to Adams himself, whom they are now investigating.
Prior to this development, most information that was publicly available pointed to prosecutors focusing only on his campaign and not the mayor directly, even though they seized his electronic devices last year.
The investigation centers around allegations that Adams’ election campaign received illegal campaign contributions from the Turkish government, possibly in exchange for actions taken by Adams, who has close ties to the country.
Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.
The criminal probe has focused on free upgrades the mayor received on Turkish Airlines flights and on Adams pressuring then-Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro in 2021 to allow the Turkish government to at least have permission to occupy on a temporary basis a new high-rise consulate in Manhattan that the Turkish government built, which fire officials would not sign off on because of safety issues.
Adams’ alleged intervention “paved the way” for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to preside over the grand opening of their 35-story tower in September 2021. Fire officials said that there were serious safety concerns with the building’s fire safety system. The building, which cost $300 million, is the country’s most expensive foreign mission project.
