Friday, November 3, 2023

Turkey in Mayor Adams latest straw donors scandal

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New York Times 

Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are conducting a broad public corruption investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’s 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times.

The investigation burst into public view on Thursday when federal agents conducted an early-morning raid at the Brooklyn home of the mayor’s chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs. Ms. Suggs is a campaign consultant who is deeply entwined with efforts to advance the mayor’s agenda.

Investigators also sought to learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, D.C., that also has ties to the country and to Mr. Adams.

According to the search warrant, investigators were also focused on whether the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials.

The agents seized three iPhones and two laptop computers, along with papers and other evidence, including something agents identified as “manila folder labeled Eric Adams,” seven “contribution card binders” and other materials, according to the documents.

There was no indication that the investigation was targeting the mayor, and he is not accused of wrongdoing. Yet the raid apparently prompted him to abruptly cancel several meetings scheduled for Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., where he planned to speak with White House officials and members of Congress about the migrant crisis.

Instead, he hurriedly returned to New York “to deal with a matter,” a spokesman for the mayor said.

Appearing at a Día de Muertos celebration at Gracie Mansion on Thursday night, Mr. Adams defended his campaign, saying that he held it “to the highest ethical standards.”

He said he had not been contacted by any law enforcement officials, but pledged to cooperate in any inquiry. Mr. Adams said that he returned from Washington to be “on the ground” to “look at this inquiry” as it unfolded.

The warrant suggested that some of the foreign campaign contributions were made as part of a straw donor scheme, where donations are made in the names of people who did not actually give money. Investigators sought evidence to support potential charges that included the theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.

Mr. Adams has boasted of his ties to Turkey, most recently during a flag-raising he hosted for the country in Lower Manhattan last week. The mayor said that there were probably no other mayors in New York City history who had visited Turkey as frequently as he has.

I think I’m on my sixth or seventh visit,” he said. At least one of those visits happened while he was Brooklyn borough president, when the government of Turkey underwrote the excursion, The Daily News reported.

Ms. Suggs, who could not be reached for comment, is an essential cog in Mr. Adams’s fund-raising machine, which has already raised more than $2.5 million for his 2025 re-election campaign.

A person with knowledge of the raid said agents from one of the public corruption squads in the F.B.I.’s New York office questioned Ms. Suggs during the search of her home.

An F.B.I. spokesman confirmed that “we are at that location carrying out law enforcement action,” referring to Ms. Suggs’s home in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

The agents also served Ms. Suggs with a subpoena directing her to testify before a federal grand jury hearing evidence in Manhattan.

Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, declined to comment.

The construction company was identified in the warrant, portions of which were obtained by The Times, as KSK Construction Group in Brooklyn. Individuals who listed their employer as KSK donated nearly $14,000 to Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign, according to campaign finance records. A person who answered the telephone at the company declined to comment.

Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, a spokesman for Mr. Adams, said Ms. Suggs was not an employee of City Hall and referred calls to the mayor’s campaign team.

“The campaign has always held itself to the highest standards,” said Vito Pitta, a lawyer for Mr. Adams’s 2021 and 2025 campaigns. “The campaign will of course comply with any inquiries, as appropriate.”

Mr. Pitta added: “Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this inquiry.”

The search warrant sought financial records for Ms. Suggs and any entity controlled or associated with her; documents related to contributions to the mayor’s 2021 campaign; records of travel to Turkey by any employee, officer or associate of the campaign; and documents related to interactions between the campaign and the government of Turkey, “including persons acting at the behest of the Turkish government.”

Investigators specified documents relating to Bay Atlantic University, a tiny Turkish-owned institution that opened in Washington, D.C., in 2014. The following year, Mr. Adams visited one of the school’s sister universities in Istanbul, where he was given various certificates and was told that a scholarship would be created in his name.

The warrant also sought electronic devices, including cellphones, laptops or tablets used by Ms. Suggs.

THE CITY  

 Internal documents obtained by THE CITY show that city regulators repeatedly asked Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign about a cluster of donations that are now part of a federal probe into one of the mayor’s top fundraisers.

The investigation, which triggered an FBI raid at the home of Adams’ campaign operative Brianna Suggs on Thursday, is examining contributions to the mayor’s 2021 campaign that came from employees of KSK Construction Company, a Brooklyn-based firm whose founders hail from Turkey, according to The New York Times.

The Times reported that the federal government is looking into whether the Adams team worked with the construction company and the Turkish government to inject foreign money into the campaign using straw donors — people listed as having donated but who did not actually contribute or who were reimbursed for their donations. 

Adams, who is not known to be a target of the probe, has said he’s traveled to Turkey at least a half dozen times, including twice over a five-month span in 2015 when he served as Brooklyn Borough President.

The KSK Construction employees donated at a May 7, 2021 fundraiser organized by an owner of the company, Erden Arkan, which was held at the home of Abraham Erdos in Brooklyn. Erdos, who was listed in Adams campaign finance filings as “retired,” had donated $2,000 to Adams’ mayoral campaign a year earlier. 

In total, the event raised $69,720 for Adams’ mayoral campaign from 84 donors, and the campaign used those donations to seek $63,760 in public matching funds, according to campaign documents obtained by THE CITY.

KSK did not respond to requests for comment via phone and email. But when contacted by THE CITY Thursday, multiple people listed in Adams 2021 campaign donation records as KSK employees either said they did not donate to Eric Adams or refused to state whether they had ever donated.

Sertac Varol, a Queens resident whose name appears in campaign records, told THE CITY that he did not recall donating to the Eric Adams campaign, and that he doesn’t believe he has ever donated to a political campaign in his life.

Abigal Nitka, a woman listed as a KSK engineer and lawyer, told THE CITY, “We’re innocent,” after declining to respond to questions.

Reached by phone, KSK employee Murat Mermer responded, “I don’t wanna comment.”

Arkan, an owner of KSK Construction, gave $1,500 to Adams’ campaign at the May 7, 2021, fundraiser, records show. He didn’t respond to a message sent via LinkedIn seeking comment, and an attorney who represented him in a recent real estate lawsuit didn’t respond to an email sent late Thursday.

KSK Construction is described in a construction publication as a 20-year-old spin-off of Kiska Construction, where Arkan and some of his partners previously worked. Kiska has been involved in a number of mammoth building projects across the city, according to the firm’s LinkedIn page, including the replacement of the Third Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River and creating the first section of the High Line park in Manhattan’s Chelsea. 

Records from New York City’s Campaign Finance Board show that board staff asked the Adams’ campaign six times over five months to explain who had connected the Adams campaign with 10 donations from KSK Construction employees totaling $12,700, all made at the May 2021 event weeks before Adams’ victory in the mayoral Democratic primary.

Campaigns are obligated to respond to such CFB inquiries within 30 days and explain their sources of funds, according to a Campaign Finance Board webinar. But in each instance, the Adams campaign failed to respond.

In a text message to THE CITY, Evan Thies, Adams’ 2021 campaign spokesperson, defended his team’s conduct. “As we have discussed extensively, contributors to campaign-sponsored events do not have intermediaries,” said Thies.  

He added, regarding the board’s inquiries: “None of those inquiries were flagged as possible straw donors. The inquiries were about possible unreported intermediaries, of which there were none required to be reported. The campaign appropriately responded to each and every flag made by the CFB as required.”

NY Post

The fundraiser whose Brooklyn home was raided as part of a federal probe into possible illegal contributions to Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign is a 25-year-old recent grad on a meteoric rise in New York City’s Democratic politics.

Brianna Suggs — who graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 2020 — has close ties to the mayor’s inner circle, including to Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the so-called Lioness of City Hall who acts as Adams’ chief advisor and gatekeeper.

One source even described her as Lewis-Martin’s political “goddaughter.”

Suggs been touted as a key campaign consultant and fundraiser for Adams — but sources said the young operative’s lack of experience raised eyebrows during the 2021 mayoral race, with some attributing her apparently elevated status to her political connections.

“It was pretty clear she was there because of who she knew,” another source said, adding Suggs’ position was part of the “incestuous” Brooklyn political clubhouse.

“The guy was running for mayor so you’d think he would have some marquee fundraiser,” the source added.

Suggs was brought on as an intern at Brooklyn Borough Hall in 2017 when Adams was Borough President and Lewis-Martin was his deputy.

She was elevated to the post of special liaison the following year and worked on women’s health for the next three years, according to her LinkedIn.

The young political consultant then moved on to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, where she boasted of raising $18.4 million. His campaign spent a total of $18.5 million, according to campaign records.

She made more than $150,000 from the 2021 mayoral campaign and Adams’ 2025 re-election campaign, records show.

“She’s a close person [to Adams and Lewis-Martin] who might not be qualified for the job, that was the vibe,” the second source said.

“In the early days of Eric’s campaign as things got more serious they bought on some other folks,” the source said. “It was sorta odd some people would raise money through her and others with other folks. To have two people was weird and a little bit redundant.”


51 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's the issue here? The corporate right-wing supreme court has already declared that bribery and corruption are legal.
AIPAC owns the Democrat party and some of the Republican Party. The Oil industry owns the Republican Party. Egypt owned Menéndez in NJ, Turkey owns Eric Adams and TrumpTurd.

If you want a change, then don't vote for the party that installs these corrupt supreme Judges like Alito and Thomas.

Joe said...

Being the person pinched is a 25 years old girl with no legal experience who was handed that job, the feds likley had her scared shitless and singing like a bird before the mayor even boarded the airplane home.
One thing with the feds, they dont move until they have a rock solid case and all the evidence they need. Then swoop down and go for everybody involved.
It will still be hard to pinch the mayor, all his friends wont co-operate. Even if the mayor is ousted or quits NYC will still have another piece of shit as his temp replacement.

-Joe

Anonymous said...

Elections have consequences.

Anonymous said...

The Biden of Brooklyn !

Anonymous said...

SHENANIGANS!

Anonymous said...

Great! "Liberals" are "exposed." Now what?

Anonymous said...

Eric Adams? Bribeable Joe gets contributions from China, Russia, Ukraine, and all sorts of other foreign countries. It's a matter of public record now, but nobody brings charges against them.

Anonymous said...

All democrat-run cities turn to shit. It's a fact of life.

Anonymous said...

Stange timming ....

Anonymous said...

Hopefully soon to be ex NYC Mayor...

Anonymous said...

Expected behavior of a ghetto rash, house rat scumbag who constantly surrounds himself with criminals. I expect some of his own NYC PD may be involved because the feds had to come in. Nobody local would blow a whistle or investigate without being reprimanded and crucified.
Than god for the feds, this could be the tip of an iceberg about to hit.
I wonder what goes on at those private clubs he hangs out in until the wee hours.

The whose administration reeks of underhanded behavior and corruption.
Donald Trump, Curtis Sliwa and people here on QC were right !!

NPC_translator said...

Swagger bitched too much about Biden's open borders. The Feds are extracting payment.

Simple. Obvious.

Anonymous said...

Mayor "one-and-done" Adams.

Anonymous said...

@#1 Please don't drink so much when posting your #TDS !

Anonymous said...

@“ Great! "Liberals" are "exposed." Now what?”

What liberals are exposed? Adams is no liberal, he’s a TrumpTurd.
Next…

Anonymous said...

@“ Elections have consequences”

Take a hike, commie troll.

Anonymous said...

@NPC_doofus
This investigation has been going on for a long while now. Starting with Ulrich. Have you inside info to share?

Anonymous said...

@“ The Biden of Brooklyn !”

Adams isn’t a war criminal yet, even if both are lapdogs of Israel.

Anonymous said...

@ "supreme Judges like Alito and Thomas"
Methinks that you are a fucking retard. In fact. meknows it.

Anonymous said...

Seems like the Feds are ok if the money comes from Israel, but not Turkey or Egypt?

Anonymous said...

@"Than god for the feds, this could be the tip of an iceberg about to hit."

What are you? Some communist supporter of the deep state?

Anonymous said...

@"All democrat-run cities turn to shit. It's a fact of life."

All red, religious freak, right-wing states were and always will be Crap.

Disgruntled Sis said...

I disagree with Joe about the young woman arrested. She's the front person and could be as ghetto as they come. You ever hear of a bag boy? This is the bag girl. Some one formerly close to her wanted to do damage - maybe someone who didn't get the biggest piece of pie. Only my opinion

Anonymous said...

And there are still assholes who will vote to re-elect him...

Anonymous said...

Your Actions Define You !

Anonymous said...

"Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we're tired of hearing promises that we know they'll never keep"

Ray Davies

Anonymous said...

Nothing will happen to this Dem Electurd.

Anonymous said...

@“ I expect some of his own NYC PD may ..”

What are ya? Some anti cop communist?
Hop on a plane to Beijing!

Anonymous said...

Have you ever considered the possibility that Eric is one of the bad guys?

Anonymous said...

We the Middle Class Tax Payers are being oppressed and marginalized!

Anonymous said...

Is he just another victim of this system, did he never had a chance ?

Anonymous said...

As long as he votes MAGA I dont care !

Anonymous said...

It's aimed at Democratic Party voters, they know that their Electurds can be bought. They've proved that many times...

Anonymous said...

Dose this make the sheeple angry ?

Anonymous said...

@ As long as he votes MAGA I dont care !“

I’m sure Adams does vote MAGA.

Anonymous said...

Jeez, these Democrats are getting almost as bad as Republicans.

Anonymous said...

@"We the Middle Class Tax Payers are being oppressed and marginalized!"

What about the working class Americans? You forgot them!

Anonymous said...

@"Have you ever considered the possibility that Eric is one of the bad guys?"

Sure. He's a republican.

Anonymous said...

@"Dose this make the sheeple angry ?"

Ask yourself, Sheeple.

Anonymous said...

@"And there are still assholes who will vote to re-elect him..."

It's either him or a Democrat.

Anonymous said...

@"Methinks that you are a fucking retard. In fact. meknows it."

Talking to yourself again, he/she/it QAnon Creep?

Anonymous said...

@"It's aimed at Democratic Party voters, they know that their Electurds can be bought. They've proved that many times..."

Are you so naive that you think Republican politicians aren't just as corrupt? Probably a lot more corrupt.

Anonymous said...

This looks impeachable to me.

Anonymous said...

TDS is an incurable disease.

Anonymous said...

The Democrats Ever-Shifting Goalposts on Bidens Chinese Money Laundering might teach Eric how to do it too.

Anonymous said...

#ItsOkayWhendemocratsDoIt

Anonymous said...

Al Capone was sent to prison not for his crimes ... but for tax evasion.

Did Eric pay his taxes???

Anonymous said...

@"It's aimed at Democratic Party voters, they know that their Electurds can be bought. They've proved that many times..."

I hope you are voting for "Tricky Vicky" Paladino today? I hear she's giving out a free fake license plate and a TrumpTurd sticker for each vote.

Anonymous said...

Paladino Won again ! Yay !

Anonymous said...

Show Me the Money Eric !

Anonymous said...

@"Paladino Won again ! Yay !"
Did you get your free fake license plate and TrumpTurd sticker?

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