Frank Carone, one of former Mayor Eric Adams’ oldest and closest allies, was arrested Wednesday on federal corruption charges, joining a growing roster of Adams aides facing prosecution.
The feds arrested Carone, the former mayor’s longtime adviser and chief of staff, along with his brother Anthony Carone and Chinese nationals Crystal Chen and Yan Po Zhu, according to charging papers. Court records show a 13-count indictment including charges for bribery, money laundering and other offenses was filed under seal and arrest warrants ordered as early as mid-June.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York alleged that the Carone brothers, Chen and Zhu “devised and executed a scheme to exploit the city’s migrant crisis for profit,” according to the indictment, which was unsealed Wednesday. They said Frank Carone agreed to steer a multimillion-dollar shelter contract to a hotel Zhu owned in exchange for about $120,000 in bribes from Zhu and Chen. Prosecutors said the bribes were funneled through Anthony Carone via a bank account tied to Frank Carone’s law firm…