Thursday’s FBI raid on the home of Winnie Greco, one of Eric Adams’ top advisers, comes just three months after another raid on his top fundraiser, and the shady characters surrounding the New York mayor. It shed new light on the statue.
Investigators were seen leaving Greco’s home and another home he owns on the same street in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx and carrying boxes away with a forensic photographer.
The FBI is investigating whether she used employees at New World Mall in Flushing, Queens, as illegal “straw” donors and also raided her office there. Two weeks ago, Adams celebrated Lunar New Year at a shopping mall.
The FBI called 911 for Greco, 61, who was taken to the hospital with an undisclosed sudden medical condition. She is currently on sick leave from her $100,000-a-year job, but she has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Asked on NY1 on Friday morning about the latest developments involving Greco, Adams said, “I’m very clear: Follow the rules.
“Follow the law, follow the rules. I’ve said that throughout my career as a law enforcement officer, and I’ve said that in public,” said the former New York City police lieutenant.
But it’s just the latest move to cast an unfair light on some of Adams’ top aides and friends, which Democratic strategists say is a threat to his re-election in 2025.
One Democratic strategist close to Mr. Adams told the Post: Many of them seem busy trying to do other things.
“It’s partly a matter of his management style and partly a failure of people to be in the moment.”
But the strategist warned: “If we lose Adams, there will be chaos. It will be a moment of sunshine for the left wing that brought us so close to destruction.
“They will attack Israel and the police, but there will be no one to stand up to them. New York is over. Welcome to the new Detroit.”
Another strategist said, “Mayor Adams worked on popular policies that mobilized New Yorkers who wanted a safe and strong city.
“His dedication remains intact, but the concern is too much disruption caused by a team with too many weaknesses and blunders to throw the Mayor off course.” It happens too often. New Yorkers are seeing it happen. ”
Connection with China
Mr. Greco, 61, is a longtime adviser to Mr. Adams, dating back to his time as a state senator and Brooklyn borough president.
She was appointed director of Asia affairs shortly after the mayor took office in 2022.
But the Post revealed that she is also a paid “consultant” for groups supporting the Chinese Communist Party.
And before the FBI raid, she was already under investigation by the City Bureau of Investigation for allegedly using her position to obtain perks. That included allegations that she promised 2021 campaign volunteers jobs in her administration if they completed renovations on her home.
She also allegedly solicited a large donation from another person in exchange for access to the Gracie mansion.
Greco describes himself as a “patriotic overseas Chinese” (a term used to describe individuals who live abroad but maintain strong loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party) and has been designated, at least by those involved, as a “consultant.” has been done. Two Beijing-backed organizations are the American Dongguan Association and the Fujian Daily Southeast Network.
Her company received funding from the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.
She has also repeatedly attended events sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which the State Department has accused of “adversely influencing” local leaders.
Mr. Greco, a Chinese immigrant who arrived in the city in the late 1990s, was last seen in public with Mr. Adams at a celebration organized by Chinese state media in downtown Cipriani to mark the Lunar New Year. The mayor was presented with a communist red scarf.
A new investigation into illegal donations focuses on possible “straw donors.” This is the person whose name is knowingly or unknowingly used on campaign finance forms to illegally funnel cash to candidates in order to evade the law.
For example, a deep-pocketed donor who wants to donate an amount above the $10,000 maximum (for example, $100,000) could use a single pop-up in the names of nine other people to get the candidate’s entire campaign contribution. You may donate $10,000 to
Turkish Delight Fundraising Activities
This is the second FBI investigation in just over three months. In early November, federal agents raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, 25, Adams’ chief fundraising officer. She was a 2021 campaign staffer before her dizzying rise. .
The attack prompted the mayor’s sudden return from Washington, D.C., where he was scheduled to meet with federal lawmakers about the immigration crisis. Suggs was removed from his role a few weeks later.
On the same day that Suggs’ Brooklyn home was raided, federal authorities also searched the homes of Lana Abbasova, a City Hall official and director of protocol at the Department of International Affairs, and the home of former Turkish Airlines executive Cenk Okal. Member of Adams’ transition team.
According to search warrants, investigators found documents related to a small Turkish university based in Washington, D.C., and that Brooklyn-based construction company KSK Construction Group and Turkish government officials illegally participated in the mayor’s 2021 campaign. It turns out that they are looking for proof of the donation.
Adams’ campaign accepted a $6,000 donation from a donor who serves on the board of a nonprofit with ties to the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The investigation also focused on whether Mr. Adams used his influence to build a Turkish consulate in Manhattan during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president, despite concerns about fire risks.
The mayor’s 2021 campaign received five $2,000 donations from Bay Atlantic University employees during a September fundraiser. However, they reportedly returned the cash after 17 days. The City Report.
Sources told The Post that Abbasova was suspended for instructing staff to delete emails after the FBI searched her home.
bling bishop
Adams also has close ties to Brooklyn pastor Lamor Whitehead, a popular “illustrious bishop” who was accused of a series of crimes and put on trial this week.
The charges include using his friendship with Adams to extort cash in exchange for “favors” in real estate transactions.
Adams’ name is expected to come up repeatedly at trial. Whitehead, 44, is accused of accepting thousands of dollars from a Bronx chiropractic shop owner in exchange for promises of “official favors” from Mayor Adams. He will do whatever you want.”
Prosecutor Jessica Greenwood claimed in her opening statement Monday that church leaders were “friends of New York’s mayor,” when in reality they were “abusing the trust” of parishioners to pursue a “lavish lifestyle.” He said he had provided funding.
The bishop’s self-proclaimed lawyer said in his opening statement that he plans to fight “like Rocky Balboa” against charges that include defrauding parishioners and burning cash at Louis Vuitton, Foot Locker and Grubhub, as well as payments to religious orders. said. BMW.
unindicted co-conspirator
Phillip Banks, Adams’ deputy mayor for public safety, was an unindicted co-conspirator in a massive federal police corruption case.
Mr. Banks, the younger brother of Superintendent David Banks, was a rising star in the NYPD until he abruptly resigned as chief in 2014, claiming he had a falling out with then-Chief Bill Bratton.
But the surprise move comes as federal authorities are investigating Banks’ charges as part of an investigation into Jonah Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg, who bribed police officers with prostitutes and jewelry and were also Bill de Blasio donors. It was revealed after an investigation that he had deposited “several hundred thousand dollars” into the account. .
Norman Seabrook, president of the Bankers and Prison Officers Union, traveled with Upper West Side real estate investor Mr. Recnitz and Brooklyn Borough Park leader Mr. Reichberg, people familiar with the matter told the Post in 2016. told.
Officials said Rechnitz paid at least some of the bill.
Mr. Banks also received two golf trips to the Dominican Republic, received a free hotel stay in Israel and visited Jerusalem’s Western Wall with Mr. Rechnitz and Mr. Reichberg in October 2014, according to government officials. .
He denies any wrongdoing.
Communists walked by criminals
Eric Ulrich, Adams’ first Building Commissioner, turned himself in to the Manhattan district attorney in September on 16 counts of gross corruption, accusing him of accepting more than $150,000 in bribes while he was Adams’s adviser and then commissioner. When I did that, I was treated unfairly.
Ulrich, who made a name for himself as a children’s book author, will leave the Adams administration in 2022 and buy a Mets premium season ticket package worth nearly $10,000, a discounted and fully furnished property in a waterfront building at Rockaway Park. He was accused of receiving luxury apartments. Tailor-made suits and expensive artwork.
Ulrich, a former Republican, resigned from the Adams administration in November 2022 after it was revealed that he had surrendered his cell phone under investigation as part of a criminal gambling investigation. He is awaiting trial.
