The FBI raided the homes of top aides to New York City Mayor Eric Adams as well as seized the cellphone of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner as part of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Politico reports.
Authorities arrived at the Manhattan home of the city’s First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and her partner, Schools Chancellor David Banks, in early September 2024, as well as the home of the deputy mayor for public safety, and David’s brother, Philip Banks in Queens. The homes of Commissioner Edward Caban and Tim Pearson, senior adviser to Adams, were also raided, along with having to give up their cellphones due to a subpoena.
Close to seven other members of the police department had their phones subpoenaed.
While it is unclear the sole reasoning behind the FBI zoning in on Adams and his team, federal investigators have been looking into the mayor’s ties to Turkey as well as a separate investigation into his aide, Winnie Greco. The Turkey probe is targeting alleged involvement in the mayor’s 2021 campaign and collusion with foreign interests, including the Turkish government. The homes of at least two other aides to Adams were raided in November 2023 by the FBI in correlation to the Turkish probe. However, it is unknown if the investigations are tied together.