DOJ orders mayor's charges dropped as others plead guilty: A timeline of Adams investigations

Editor's note: This article is being updated periodically as new developments emerge in the federal and local investigations into the Adams administration and campaign.

The US Department of Justice upended the case against Mayor Eric Adams on Feb. 10 with a two-page message to prosecutors saying they should drop the charges.

The bombshell indictment that the Southern District of New York brought against the mayor in September isn’t moot yet – the office hasn’t responded to the DOJ’s request, and the letter makes clear that the charges can be revisited in the future. But it’s a major shakeup in the case that has imperiled Adams’ prospects for reelection in 2025 — and once threatened his potential to finish his first term as mayor.

Adams has described himself as a “target” for fighting for New Yorkers, claiming that his indictment was political punishment for criticizing former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. The letter from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department repeats the claim. Neither have offered clear evidence.

In fact, Adams’ political and legal woes predate the indictment, with a series of investigations dogging officials close to him, and high-profile resignations calling into question the stability of his administration. It’s not entirely clear whether or how the various investigations connect.

Here’s a timeline of the ongoing investigations surrounding Adams' administration and his 2021 mayoral campaign:

July 7, 2023: The Manhattan DA’s office indicts six men it says directed illegal straw donations to Adams’ 2021 campaign. The group includes Dwayne Montgomery, a retired NYPD inspector whom the mayor acknowledged socializing with when they were both officers, and brothers Shahid and Yahya Mushtaq, owners of Queens construction safety firm. Prosecutors later said Adams’ aide Rachel Atcheson helped Montgomery organize a 2020 fundraiser that led to the straw donations. She was not accused of wrongdoing and remains deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.

Sept. 13, 2023: Adams’ former buildings commissioner Eric Ulrich is indicted on bribery charges by the Manhattan DA’s office. Ulrich, a former Republican councilmember whom the mayor also selected as an adviser, is accused of accepting $150,000 in cash and gifts in exchange for access to the mayor and city officials, as well as assisting with permitting and city jobs. Ulrich pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege Ulrich also accepted a discounted rate on a luxury condo from an influential developer. Ulrich later attempted to conspire with the developer to clear a homeless shelter for people displaced by disasters, which was located in a hotel across the street from his luxury condo, according to one of the indictments against him.

Oct. 24, 2023: Shahid and Yahya Mushtaq plead guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy charges related to the alleged straw donor scheme. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, the Mushtaqs pledge to share witnesses, documents and other information as part of a larger investigation, according to the Manhattan DA's office.

Nov. 2, 2023: FBI agents raid the Brooklyn home of Adams’ top fundraiser, 25-year-old intern Brianna Suggs. The raid is linked to an ongoing federal investigation that’s reportedly tied to illegal donations from Turkish officials. Adams denies any wrongdoing after rushing back to New York City from a scheduled White House visit about the migrant crisis. Adams' chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, confirms the mayor's office is cooperating with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

The New York Times later reports that FBI agents also raided the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, an aide in the international affairs office, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who was on Adams’ transition team.

Nov. 6, 2023: Adams' cellphones and other electronic devices are seized by FBI agents who approach him in public following an event in Manhattan. Two days later, the mayor announces that he has retained the services of law firm WilmerHale.

Feb. 5, 2024: Dwayne Montgomery, the former NYPD inspector, pleads guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy, admitting that he instructed straw donors to donate to Adams’ 2021 campaign. Unlike the Mushtaq brothers, who own a construction company, there is no indication in court filings that Montgomery is cooperating with the district attorney.

Feb. 29, 2024: FBI agents raid the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, one of Adams' top advisers and fundraisers. Greco, who has helped Adams raise money from the Chinese community, suffers an apparent medical episode during the raid and goes on sick leave. The raid is reportedly conducted under the aegis of federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. Zornberg, the city’s chief counsel, says there is “no indication” that the mayor is a target of the investigation.

March 18, 2024: Chinese billionaire Hui Qin pleads guilty to making straw donations to various candidates for local and federal office, less than six months after he was charged by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Federal prosecutors said Qin, who has homes in Old Westbury and Manhattan, agreed to reimburse others for contributions they made on his behalf to a candidate for citywide office between December 2021 and 2022. Although t charging documents do did not explicitly name Adams, campaign finance records show Qin contributed to the mayor’s campaign in 2021. Adams’ attorney Vito Pitta said the campaign had no knowledge of illicit donations from Qin.

April 18, 2024: Shamsuddin Riza, a construction company owner, pleads guilty to conspiring to make illegal donations to Adams’ 2021 campaign. As part of an agreement with Manhattan DA prosecutors, Riza will be sentenced to three years probation. He is the fourth person to have pleaded guilty in the case.

Aug. 15, 2024: The mayor’s office confirms a New York Times report that Adams and members of his campaign received federal subpoenas in July.

Sept. 4, 2024: FBI agents raid the home shared by First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Education Commissioner David Banks, as well as the home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks (David’s brother). Federal officials seize Police Commissioner Edward Caban’s phone.

Sept. 5, 2024: The NYPD confirms it is cooperating with a federal investigation involving its members.

Sept. 12, 2024: Caban resigns as police commissioner. A law enforcement source later tells Gothamist the IRS and federal prosecutors in Manhattan are behind an investigation into Caban and other top police officials. Media outlets reported that the investigation centers around whether the commissioner’s brother, James Caban, was paid by bars and restaurants to gain favorable treatment from police.

Sept. 14, 2024: Lisa Zornberg, the mayor’s chief counsel, abruptly resigns as investigations ramp up around Adams. Her resignation letter does not say why.

Sept. 16, 2024: A federal indictment alleges two FDNY chiefs accepted at least $190,000 in bribes in exchange for fast-tracking approvals of buildings’ fire alarm systems. Adams is not mentioned in the indictment, but it says his administration maintained a list that was used to fast-track projects based on a “City Hall list” of requests from the deputy mayor’s office.

Sept. 19, 2024: A letter obtained by Gothamist shows New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services withdrew a contract from a vendor with ties to high-ranking City Hall officials after city Comptroller Brad Lander raised numerous red flags about the potentially favorable deal. The contract was expected to go to The Pearl Alliance, founded by Terence Banks, brother to David and Philip. Lander is challenging Adams in the 2025 primary.

Sept. 20, 2024: Tom Donlon, the interim police commissioner named after Caban stepped down, says federal authorities executed search warrants at his residences, collecting 20-year-old documents unrelated to his current work with the NYPD. He worked for the FBI two decades ago.

Sept. 20, 2024: Federal authorities serve Molly Schaeffer, director of asylum-seeker operations, a subpoena, according to the Associated Press and video. Gothamist confirms that federal agents showed up at her parents’ building.

Sept. 23, 2024: The city’s health commissioner says he plans to step down by early next year. He has not been linked to any of the investigations.

Sept. 24, 2024: David Banks, the education commissioner, announces plans to step down.

Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, 2024: Mayor Adams releases a video late on a Wednesday night saying he expects to be charged by federal prosecutors — while denying the wrongdoing and describing himself as a target because of his work on behalf of New Yorkers. The next morning, the Southern District of New York unseals an indictment accusing him of trading favors for campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and federal investigators search Gracie Mansion, Adams’ official residence. The mayor faces a wave of calls, including from some of his allies, to step down. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove the mayor in the event of criminal charges, says that while she reviews "my options and obligations," she expects Adams "to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward."

Sept. 26, 2024: An attorney who represents several former high-ranking FDNY officials tells Gothamist it's still not clear whether a safety system at the Turkish-owned 36-story Manhattan high-rise was ever completely installed. Prosecutors allege Adams pressured FDNY officials to overlook their concerns about the building's fire safety systems in exchange for bribes.

Sept. 26, 2024: The mayor quietly issues an executive order adjusting the city's succession rules in the event that both he and the first deputy mayor — whose home had been raided by federal investigators earlier in the month — are unable to perform their duties. The order shifts power to Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom if both Adams and the first deputy mayor become unavailable.

Sept. 26, 2024: City investigators search Sheriff Anthony Miranda’s Queens office after receiving a report about unvouchered cash, marking another potential criminal probe into an Adams appointee.

Sept. 27, 2024: Adams formally surrenders to federal authorities and pleads not guilty to the charges in the unsealed indictment at court in Lower Manhattan.

Sept. 27, 2024: New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the highest-ranking Democrat yet, joins the mounting calls for Adams to resign.

Sept. 27, 2024: Federal agents serve a subpoena to Adams’ chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, and the Manhattan District Attorney's office takes her phones. It's not immediately clear which investigations those steps might be connected to.

Sept. 30, 2024: Adams aide and close adviser Timothy Pearson submits his letter of resignation to the administration, effective Oct. 4. Pearson has faced four lawsuits related to sexual harassment allegations during his time in the NYPD and an internal city investigation into a violent altercation witnesses said he had with security staff at a migrant shelter. Pearson, who managed security at migrant shelters and a special NYPD unit that assessed city agencies, has also been sued for allegedly attempting to profit off of city contracts related to the shelters.

Oct. 2, 2024: Schools Chancellor David Banks' last day is pushed up from Dec. 31 to Oct. 16, just after Gov. Kathy Hochul urges Adams to clean house.

Oct. 4, 2024: Sources confirm First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is stepping down, about a month after federal agents raided her home and seized her electronic devices. Wright lives with and reportedly recently married her longtime partner David Banks, the outgoing schools chancellor.

Oct. 7, 2024: Phil Banks, the controversial deputy mayor for public safety and one of Mayor Eric Adams’ closest advisers — as well as one of three brothers connected to the federal investigations surrounding City Hall — resigns.

Oct. 8, 2024: Mohamed Bahi, who worked in the mayor’s community affairs office, is charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence tied to the ongoing investigation into the mayor’s fundraising practices. Bahi reportedly resigned the day before charges were announced.

Oct. 9, 2024: Mayor Eric Adams names Maria Torres-Springer as New York City's first deputy mayor, following Sheena Wright’s departure.

Oct. 10, 2024: Interim police commissioner Thomas Donlon will soon be replaced, City Hall says. Federal agents searched Donlon's homes just 10 days into his tenure, but he says the search was for materials to his past work with the FBI, and not related to the NYPD.

Nov. 20, 2024: Adams swears in Jessica Tisch, until then the sanitation commissioner, as NYPD commissioner, replacing Donlon. She is the second woman to serve as NYPD commissioner — and the fourth occupant of the position under Adams' tenure.

Dec. 15, 2024: Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams' chief adviser and longtime confidant, resigns abruptly from her role at City Hall, effective immediately.

Dec. 16, 2024: At a press conference held at her lawyer's office, Lewis-Martin announces she will soon be indicted on charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Separately, the city's Campaign Finance Board denies Adams the first round of matching funds for his reelection campaign, citing poor recordkeeping practices and potentially illegal conduct. Lewis-Martin worked on the mayor's 2021 campaign, and her goddaughter Brianna Suggs was his chief fundraiser.

Dec. 17, 2024: A federal judge denies Adams' request to dismiss his bribery charge, saying a jury should get to consider it.

Dec. 19, 2024: Lewis-Martin surrenders to Manhattan prosecutors, according to news reports. An indictment accuses her of abusing her position "to illegally influence city decisions in exchange for over $100,000 in cash and other benefits for herself and her son." It charges, her, her son Glenn Martin II and two business owners with interests in Manhattan properties, alleging she sold her influence to push construction projects through the city's Department of Buildings.

Dec. 23, 2024: Erden Arkan, a real estate magnate accused of funneling illegal campaign contributions from the Turkish government to Adams’ campaign, pleads guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Jan. 20, 2025: Adams abruptly cancels public appearances at Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in New York City to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC, where he watches from an overflow room.

Feb. 7, 2025: Prosecutors announce that Mohamed Bahi, a former Adams aide accused of facilitating straw donations to the Adams campaign and destroying evidence related to ongoing investigations, intends to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge.

Feb. 10, 2025: The US Department of Justice directs prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to drop the charges against Adams. The DOJ orders the charges dropped “without prejudice,” meaning they can be revisited in the future, and argues that the move will better allow Adams to facilitate immigration enforcement for the Trump administration, though it is unclear how.