Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ top adviser arrested in corruption probe
By Gloria Pazmino, Kara Scannell, Eric Levenson, CNN
(CNN) — A former senior adviser to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the adviser’s brother and two others were indicted on charges of bribery and money laundering conspiracy as part of a “scheme to exploit the city’s migrant crisis for profit,” according to a federal indictment released Wednesday.
The former adviser, Frank Carone, known in the city’s political circles as a high-powered government enforcer and supporter of Adams, was arrested Wednesday morning following a search of his home by federal law enforcement officers, a law enforcement source said.
The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of New York, accuses Frank Carone, his brother Anthony Carone, and hotel operators Crystal Chen and Yan Po Zhu of wrongdoing. They are expected to be arraigned on the charges at 2 p.m.
The case stems from the city’s legal requirement to provide shelter to a surge of migrants who arrived to New York in 2022. The indictment alleges Frank Carone agreed to accept bribes from Zhu and Chen, through Anthony Carone, in exchange for Carone steering a multimillion dollar contract to house migrants at their hotel. Zhu and Chen paid about $120,000 to Frank Carone, which was laundered through Anthony Carone’s law firm, the indictment alleges.
The adviser and multiple current and former members of the New York Police Department were raided by the NYPD and federal law enforcement agents Wednesday as part of separate corruption investigations, two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigations told CNN.
A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. CNN has attempted to contact Carone’s attorney.
A spokesperson for Adams issued a statement defending Carone’s career.
“Frank Carone has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York,” Todd Shapiro, spokesperson for Adams, said in a statement. “This is an ongoing legal matter and my prayers are with his family.”
A separate investigation by the Southern District in Manhattan targeted current and former members of the department, including one former high-ranking department official. It wasn’t immediately known whether the current and former NYPD members targeted in the raid were arrested.
The investigation is said to be part of a long-running criminal probe into bribery and conduct alleged to have happened years ago, the source said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed one of the investigations in a social media post.
“This morning, members of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI executed search warrants as part of a criminal investigation being pursued by the NYPD, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York,” Tisch wrote.
“The investigation is ongoing and concerns conduct by former and current members of the NYPD. When I became Police Commissioner, I promised New Yorkers that under my leadership the NYPD would conduct itself with integrity and that there would be a thorough investigation of any claim that members of service failed to meet that standard.”
The aftermath of the Adams administration
The indictment is the latest accusation of corruption connected to Adams. The former retired NYPD captain turned Brooklyn politico served as mayor of New York for one term from 2022 to 2025 before he lost his reelection bid to current mayor Zohran Mamdani.
He focused his mayoralty on public safety concerns but was dogged by accusations of corruption. In 2024, Adams was indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals in exchange for political favors. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Before the case could go to trial, the Trump administration last year moved to drop the charges, saying the prosecution had “unduly restricted” the mayor’s ability to crack down on illegal immigration.
The unusual move spurred a series of federal prosecutors to resign rather than carry out the order, and they accused Trump officials of dropping the charges as part of a quid-pro-quo to get Adams to carry out their preferred policies.
The judge overseeing the case criticized the Trump administration’s motives for dropping the case, but ultimately dismissed the charges and ordered that they could not be brought again.
Adams ran for reelection in 2025 but ultimately dropped out of the race before the election due to low polling numbers.
Mayor Mamdani spoke on Wednesday, reacting to the charges.
“Our government should serve the public with integrity. Any corruption would amount to a serious violation of the responsibility within the NYPD, and a breach in public trust,” he said.
“As Commissioner Tisch said earlier today, this is an investigation that the NYPD is conducting with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Commissioner Tisch has already shown a real commitment to cracking down on corruption and ensuring that the public servants in the NYPD are held to the highest standards. I’m confident that she will lead us through this process.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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