By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors said on Tuesday they have uncovered additional criminal conduct by Eric Adams as they prepare for the New York City mayor’s April corruption trial.
Adams, 64, was charged in September with accepting travel perks from Turkish officials and political donations from foreigners in exchange for taking actions to benefit Turkey. He pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, fraud and solicitation of a campaign contribution from a foreign national.
In a court filing, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan cited new information in urging U.S. District Judge Dale Ho to deny Adams’ request that they identify his alleged co-conspirators or provide early access to evidence for his April 21 trial.
The prosecutors warned doing so could lead to attempts to tamper with witnesses.
“Law enforcement has continued to identify additional individuals involved in Adams’s conduct, and to uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams,” the prosecutors wrote.
“The Indictment provides ample cause to believe that as potential witnesses became known to Adams and his allies, measures were taken to influence their testimony,” they wrote.
The prosecutors did not provide details about the alleged additional criminal conduct.
Asked to respond to prosecutors’ statement, Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro said, “This is amateur hour.”
“They are just looking for a headline instead of doing the right thing,” Spiro said in a statement.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, declined to comment.
Prosecutors said in a court hearing in October that a superseding indictment in the case was “quite likely.”
The initial indictment charged Adams, a Democrat, with accepting more than $90,000 in discounted luxury hotel stays and flight upgrades from Turkish officials in exchange for pressuring city fire officials to let Turkey open its new consulate despite safety concerns.
He was also accused of disguising contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign from Turkish sources by funneling them through U.S. citizens.
Prosecutors said last month that a New York construction executive accused of making illegal contributions to Adams’ campaign planned to plead guilty.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Cynthia Osterman)
