A Manhattan judge on Tuesday denied Mayor Adams’ motion to dismiss the bribery count in his public corruption case.
“[The] Indictment is sufficiently pleaded, and dismissal is not warranted,” Manhattan federal court Judge Dale Ho wrote in a 30-page order rejecting Adams’ arguments that the government’s allegations did not meet the legal standard for bribery.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office says Adams is guilty of bribery for accepting luxury travel benefits from wealthy Turkish officials in exchange for pressuring the FDNY to open the country’s Midtown consulate before it was safe to do so.
Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro has argued, among other positions, that the government failed to allege a “quid pro quo” sufficiently. He called the claims “extraordinarily vague” and tantamount to “normal and perfectly lawful acts that many city officials would undertake for the consulate of an important foreign nation.”
In his motion to dismiss the bribery charge — one of five counts Adams faces — Spiro said Adams’ alleged communications with FDNY officials about the consulate in the months before he was elected were not tantamount to him abusing his official power because he was still Brooklyn borough president and didn’t yet have formal authority over the fire department or the Turkish Consulate.
“[A] public official may use their role to influence those who are not within their direct line of authority — and federal bribery laws seek to limit the possibility of such corrupt influence,” Judge Ho wrote in his opinion, citing precedent.
The judge later added, “Ultimately, whether or not Adams used his official position as Brooklyn Borough President to exert pressure on the FDNY is a factual question for a jury to resolve.”
The embattled mayor has pleaded not guilty to bribery, wire fraud, and secretly soliciting illegal campaign contributions from overseas donors in a five-count indictment that alleges he put a price on his political influence dating back to his days as Brooklyn borough president.
Among other allegations, he’s accused of raking in over $100,000 worth of lavish trips around the world, cruises, and hotel stays paid for by a Turkish government official and wealthy Turkish businessmen who believed the former NYPD captain would one day make it to the White House.
