Mayor Eric Adams has amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid legal fees to fight the historic federal indictment, but contributions to his defense fund have all but dried up.
Hizzoner's trust raised just $2,200 from just two donors in the past three months, according to a disclosure report filed late Wednesday.
At the same time, Adams racked up an additional $866,000 in expenses, mostly attorney fees for Wilmer Cutler and Vito Pitta, who manage the trust.
The fund also reported that an advance of nearly $200,000 was paid to Quinn Emanuel, the law firm of prominent attorney Alex Spiro, who is leading Adams' defense on bribery and corruption charges.
The fund currently has more than $735,000 in debt, according to its latest quarterly report ending in 2024, which comes as the mayor's lawyers prepare for trial in April. It is expected that the number of cases filed in court will swell.
The defense fund said officials had recovered the mayor's cell phone in connection with a federal raid targeting Adams' top fundraiser Brianna Suggs and an investigation into the 2021 Gracie House campaign. It was created in late 2023 in response to the seizure.
He collected $1.8 million from about 600 donations before Manhattan federal prosecutors filed a five-count indictment against Mr. Adams in September accusing him of accepting bribes of luxury travel in return for political favors to foreign governments. .
Adams maintains his innocence and has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.
Since the indictment was unsealed, the defense fund has only raised $23,000 from eight donations.
The fund can receive up to $5,000 per donor, and payments must be reported to the city's Conflict of Interest Commission.
Since mid-October, businessman Zvi Otzer has been one of only two donors to donate $2,000 to the fund.
More than 20 years ago, he was fined for making improper donations to then-Rep. Anthony Weiner's campaign. In early 2021, President Donald Trump Ozer was pardoned, He had been convicted of conspiracy and bank fraud, according to news reports at the time.
A call to Pitta was not immediately returned.
People close to Adams said they were unfazed by the debt the defense fund had racked up, and that the lawyer would continue to work despite the outstanding balance.
The City Defense Fund can continue to collect money at any time, officials added.
The trust filed a report at the same time the campaign finance disclosures were released, showing that Adams had raised nearly $4.4 million for his re-election campaign and $250,000 by the end of his term in 2024. revealed.
