Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on charges related to a federal investigation that has rocked his administration, sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
The historic indictment is expected to be unsealed by U.S. Attorney Damien Williams on Thursday, sources said. The news was first reported by The New York Times.
Sources said Adams is expected to turn himself in to authorities early next week.
The specific charges are unclear, but sources say they are believed to be related to bribery allegations that the Turkish government illegally diverted funds to his mayoral campaign.
Mayor Adams' campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, has also been charged in a foreign influence case, part of a federal investigation into the mayor and his top aides.
It's also unclear how the latest indictment relates to a Sept. 4 sweeping raid that targeted several senior officials in Adams' administration, which has thrown City Hall into turmoil for weeks amid reports of the investigation focusing on allegations of corruption among the mayor's inner circle.
Sources said that by Wednesday morning word had spread that “senior” City Hall officials would soon be charged, causing panic among staff throughout the day.
The unsealing of the indictment comes after federal prosecutors recently demanded City Hall turn over all communications between the Adams administration and Turkey and five other countries in the long-running investigation.
Sources told The Washington Post that Adams' 2021 campaign had previously received a subpoena seeking information about campaign finances, specifically those linked to Turkey.
A series of subpoenas were then issued in July, with broad records requests seeking details of all interactions between administration officials and Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, the sources added.
Adams, the city council and the elections board also received grand jury subpoenas that month, and the federal government obtained text messages, documents and other communications and materials.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has remained tight-lipped about the investigation since it came to light with a dramatic search of the Brooklyn home of Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, in November.
Below is the latest on the FBI's investigation into Adams administration associates.
The raid, which followed evidence of dummy contributions to Adams' mayoral campaign from the Turkish government and Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group, forced Hizzoner to rush back from a high-profile White House meeting on the migrant crisis.
Federal agents later searched the homes of City Hall employee Rana Abbasova and Cenk Ocal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on Adams' transition team.
A week later, Adams had his phone and iPad confiscated by FBI agents on the street in Manhattan.
Meanwhile, another aide, Winnie Greco, had her Bronx home searched by FBI agents in February, but it was not clear at the time whether that was related to the Turkey investigation.
Hizzoner has always denied any wrongdoing.
“It takes a lot of self-restraint to say nothing when you know you've done nothing wrong,” Adams said in August when asked about the investigation into the mayoral election.
The indictment marks the first time a New York City mayor has been indicted in 170 years. Historical research has been carried out By THE CITY.
Every recent mayor, from David Dinkins to Bill de Blasio, has faced some kind of corruption investigation that, at its worst, has resulted in low-level aides being indicted.
Former Mayor Jimmy Walker famously resigned in 1932 while under investigation, but was never charged.
The shocking indictment comes amid a wave of federal investigations targeting City Hall and New York officials that have emerged in a series of stunning recent raids on Hizzoner's top officials, closest political allies and most trusted aides.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are involved in many of the investigations but, as with the mayoral campaign probe, have been tight-lipped about what they are trying to accomplish, potential charges or how the investigations may intertwine with one another.
So far, no one has been charged or accused of wrongdoing in the other investigations.
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
