By Steve Neavling
FBI agents on Thursday raided the homes of a close aide to New York Mayor Eric Adams as part of an ongoing investigation being conducted with prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, The New York Times reports.
Winnie Greco, a longtime ally of Adams’ and a prominent fundraiser for the mayor, was also placed on leave from her city as a special adviser to the mayor following the raid.
Agents also executed a search warrant at the New World Mall in Queens, where Adams made regular appearances.
The focus of the investigation wasn’t immediately clear.
Federal investigators declined to comment.
Adams spokesman Fabien Levy emphasized that Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing.
“Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines,” Levy said in a statement. “As we have repeatedly said, we don’t comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway,” an apparent reference to the federal investigations.
In November, as part of a public corruption investigation, FBI agents searched the homes of other Adams’ associates, including Brianna Suggs, the mayor’s chiefs fund-raiser; Rana Abbasova, an aide in Adams’ international affairs office; and Cenk Ocal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on the mayor’s transition team.
Vito Pitta, a lawyer for Adams’ campaign, said in a statement, “The campaign has always and will always follow the law. It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation at this time.”
