NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Administrative Investigation Previews Shady Candidates: Critics

Poor management and harboring friends in the upper echelons of his government are the main reasons why Mayor Adams is now mired in scandal, critics charged.

“You have two brothers, a functional wife and a best friend who are deputy mayors or senior advisers in those positions,” John Kaehny, executive director of the good government group Reinvent Albany, said of Adams.

“Down at the hardware store they ran out of red flags because they had run out of them.”

Among those with top positions and alleged influence under Adams: the Banks brothers, outgoing schools chancellor David and deputy mayor for public safety Philip, whose father was one of Hizzoner’s lieutenants and mentor during his time with the NYPD.

David Banks’ girlfriend, Sheena Wright, got a job as first deputy mayor, while Adams’ own girlfriend, Tracey Collins, has a posh job as a senior adviser in the city’s Department of Education for $221,000 a year.

The appointment of Philip Banks is particularly troubling, said Kaehny, noting that he retired as NYPD department chief in 2014 amid a massive federal investigation into police corruption in which he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator.

This likely put Banks in the sights of authorities the moment he was selected for his post, Kaehny said.

Another worrisome appointment was NYPD inspector and close Adams associate Tim Pearson, a top adviser who has overseen lucrative security contracts for migrants. according to Kaehny.

“At the very, very beginning, Adams was in conflict with the Conflict of Interest Board over Pearson taking two salaries, [including] one from a casino” that sought state approval to expand its operations, he said.

Year	Goal	Advantages	Value	Disclosed?
2016	India (via Turkey)	Complimentary business class upgrade for two on a round-trip flight from New York to India	$12,000	NO
2017	France, Türkiye and China	Complimentary business class tickets for three people round-trip from New York to France, Turkey and China; Deeply discounted stay in the Bentley Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul	$41,000+	NO
2017	China (via Turkey)	Free round-trip business class tickets for two from New York to China	$16,000+	NO
2018	Hungary (via Turkey)	Complimentary business class upgrade for two people on a round-trip flight from New York to Hungary	$12,000+	NO
2019	turkey	Free upgrade to Business Class for one person on the flight from New York to Turkey; free stay in the Cosmopolitan Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul; Free meals, transportation and entertainment in Istanbul	$9,000+	NO
2021	Türkiye (requested and accepted, but then canceled)	Complimentary business class upgrade for two on a round-trip flight from New York to Turkey; free or deeply discounted luxury hotel and resort stays, transportation, entertainment and meals	$21,000+	NO
2021	Ghana (via Turkey)	Complimentary business class upgrade for two on a round-trip flight from New York to Ghana; Free meals and transportation during the stopover in Istanbul	$12,000+	NO

David and Philip Banks, Pearson and Wright’s phones and electronic devices were confiscated by the government. Officials are now investigating whether they were involved in shaping city contracts to benefit themselves or their family members, sources told The Post.

None were accused of wrongdoing.

An Adams insider said the Turkish investigation, which involves free trips and campaign contributions, was “due in part to poor management decisions,” including the assignment of unqualified people to jobs that “required not only ethical conscientiousness but also extreme love for the cause.” “Detail” requires.

Of particular concern was the decision to hire Briana Suggs, Adams’ former intern with close ties to his inner circle, as a key adviser and fundraiser for his 2021 mayoral campaign.

---

Stay up to date with the New York Post’s coverage of the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams

---

“I don’t think they were aware of the strict laws surrounding campaign finance, especially when it comes to foreigners, and that they prioritized raising money instead of making sure everything was in order,” the insider said.

Adams, 64, started as a traffic cop and rose through the ranks of the NYPD to the state Senate, Brooklyn borough president and City Hall. He made history this week when he became the first sitting mayor to be criminally charged.

According to Democratic sources, Adams’ own ability to escape ethical quagmires during his time as a police officer and his political career may have finally caught up with him when he arrived at City Hall.

“As his circle has grown. . . As his power grew, so did his staff, and corruption worsened,” said a Democratic council member.

During his time in Albany from 2007 to 2013, Adams was accused by the state’s inspector general in 2010 of accepting significant campaign contributions from people connected to bidders for a casino contract at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The case was referred to federal prosecutors, but no charges were ever brought against him

And after Adams was elected Brooklyn Beep in 2013, the city’s Department of Investigation found that a nonprofit fundraiser he founded to fund his office’s pet projects, One Brooklyn, violated city regulations.

“He came close to being indicted several times and seemed to get away with it scot-free, so he clearly felt he could continue to get off scot-free,” said a veteran Democratic insider. “But you can’t escape the Southern District of New York.”