Months after the Supreme Court sided with an Indiana mayor who took payments from a Peterbilt dealer in a small-town bribery case, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is relying on precedent to resolve his own federal corruption charges. The battle is becoming more active.
But some experts say efforts may run out of gas before they can accelerate.
Federal prosecutors are using a law known as Section 666 to crack down on corrupt officials who accept bribes, but they are also accused of trying to blur the definition of bribery. They will also need to prove that an “official act” took place in exchange for what the allegedly corrupt politician was collecting.
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Mayor Eric Adams (right) is pictured next to his attorney Alex Spiro on the day of his arraignment outside federal court in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)
In 2016, the Department of Justice filed corruption charges against James Snyder, the former Republican mayor of Portage, Indiana, under Section 666.
He oversaw a $1.1 million deal in 2013 to buy garbage trucks for the city from the City of Great Lakes Peterbilt, according to court filings. In 2014, he received a check from a dealer for $13,000.
The FBI and federal prosecutors accused him of accepting money as kickbacks for truck sales. Snyder said the payment was for consulting services in a state that allows public employees to be hired externally.
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder and his family arrived at federal court in Hammond for sentencing on October 13, 2021. A subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was successful. (Kyle Telechan/Post Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Although he was found guilty at trial, his legal battle continued for years. After a successful retrial, he was convicted again and subsequently lost his first appeal.
However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a 6-3 opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, stating that the Bribery Act does not apply to bribery laws, especially when payments are made after the fact without any evidence of a corrupt agreement. He explained that not all payments would be illegal.
Read Eric Adams' latest work Submission to court:
Federal authorities seize Eric Adams' cell phone after New York mayor indicts him
The court found that Snyder received “gratuities,” not bribes.
The court said the tip was two forms of payment, neither of which met the definition of a bribe. The first is the “thank you” gifts, from a fancy lunch to a framed photo. The second type of gift is a gift intended to “do a favor” but not in exchange for something specific.
In a dissent from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's liberals countered that there was still evidence of corruption that made the payments to Mr. Snyder illegal. Kavanaugh wrote that while the tipping is not a federal crime, it could still violate state and local ethics rules. Mr. Snyder has not been charged with any crime at the state level.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives at federal court for arraignment in Lower Manhattan on September 27, 2024. Adams is facing five federal charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, two counts of solicitation of foreign contributions, and bribery charges. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
Kavanaugh also warned that if federal law were to crack down on tipping, it could illegally infringe on states' rights to regulate interactions between state officials and voters.
Adams' lawyers maintain that the mayor never accepted bribes or took any action in his official capacity to seek quid pro quo.
Anthony Capozzolo, a former federal prosecutor who handled public corruption cases in neighboring districts, said prosecutors clearly explained the alleged quid pro quo in Adams' indictment, but that the mayor was not acting in an “official act.” He said there would be more opportunities to prove otherwise.
“This issue of him not being mayor at the time, and what is the official act? There may be more scrutiny from the courts,” Capozzolo told Fox News Digital.
Adams' attorney, Alex Spiro, wrote in a motion Monday that prosecutors had failed to prove an actual case of bribery.
Mayor Eric Adams sits next to his attorney Alex Spiro in federal court during his arraignment on September 27, 2024 in New York City. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
“The indictment in this case alleges a 'bribery' scheme that does not meet the definition of bribery and is in fact not a federal crime at all,” Spiro said in a court filing released Monday. I mentioned it in.
“After years of investigation to support federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, prosecutors have determined that Section 666 makes gratuities a crime, based on the Department's long-held position that Section 666 criminalizes gratuities. “It seems we've settled on a theory. It's friendly to government officials, but it doesn't relate to specific questions or issues,” Spiro wrote. “When the Supreme Court rejected that interpretation in June, prosecutors simply added a few vague arguments and called their theory bribery, a 'much more serious crime than gratuities.'”
Adams' defense attorneys argued that the Justice Department's lawsuit is “not working.”
“The indictment does not allege that Mayor Adams agreed to perform any official act upon receiving the benefits; rather, while serving as Brooklyn Borough President, rather than mayor or mayor-elect, “In exchange for travel allowances, he helped 'operate' or 'regulate' the premises of the Turkish Consulate General in Manhattan, over which he had no authority.'' Spiro wrote.
Damien Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York)
At issue are three text messages that Adams sent to former FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro during his past stint as Brooklyn borough president, prosecutors allege. . But Capozzolo said there is additional context and dialogue surrounding the text that could convince the court it is not as innocuous as it sounds when read alone.
Eric Adams texted the FDNY Secretary:
- “They said they needed a defect letter from the FDNY to the DOB (Department of Buildings). They know there are some problems, but the letter says the DOB has a problem. I mean.”[ll] Please issue a TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy). ”
- “They really need someone…hopefully by today. If [im]Please let me know if possible. I will meet their expectations. ”
- “They said the increase in jobs (sic) at the FDNY did not give the inspector permission to come. The inspector indicated (sic) that he needed authority to come today.”
Spiro asked the court to dismiss the bribery charges because of Snyder's precedent, and the remaining charges were dropped because they were “based on a number of false allegations clearly attributed to self-serving officials with an ax to grind.” argued that it should be done. . ”
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But Mr. Capozzolo pointed to page 33 of the indictment, where prosecutors detail a series of phone calls between Mr. Adams, his staff and Turkish officials, in which officials The mayor is said to have told Adams it was “his turn” to return the favor. “I know,” he replied.
“That’s about as much return as you can get,” Capozzolo said.
Read the indictment of Eric Adams.
On the other hand, the government may have a hard time proving that Mr. Adams actually repaid the Turks with an official act.
“As a result, Mr. Adams may have a chance of having the charges dismissed,” Neema Rahmani, another former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital.
He said the Snyder decision “significantly” weakened federal bribery laws, noting that it is not uncommon for convictions under the laws to be overturned on appeal.
“The Supreme Court also required formal conduct for bribery convictions,” he said. “Adams was a mayoral candidate, but he was the borough president of Brooklyn at the time, meaning he had no official authority over buildings in Manhattan. The defense used that key fact to argue that no official action was possible. “For purposes of the Bribery Act.” ”
new york mayor eric adams (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Last week, before the Justice Department announced the indictment of Adams, the mayor accused federal agents of retaliating for criticizing President Biden and Vice President Harris for their response to the southern border, which led to He said the overloading had led to a migrant crisis. Its shelter system. City police said earlier this year that the influx of illegal immigrants coincided with a spike in robberies in the Big Apple.
Still, federal investigations have implicated dozens of people, including election staffers, city officials and even the mayor's former police chief, in a ring of corruption allegations so vast that Capozzolo said: He said this is a throwback to Tammany Hall in the 1800s. boss tweed.
If Adams is found guilty of all charges including receiving campaign funds from foreign nationals, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery, one count of wire fraud, and two counts of solicitation of campaign funds from foreign nationals. , could be sentenced to up to 45 years in prison. , and one count of soliciting and receiving bribes.
