(The Center Square) — A former top advisor to New York Mayor Eric Adams’ former top adviser accepted bribes for migrant shelters, real estate projects and street redesigns that needed city approval, according to a new indictment.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ former chief of staff, was among seven people indicted Thursday by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in a sweeping expansion of a City Hall corruption probe. She pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and accepting bribes.
Others facing new charges are Lewis-Martin’s son, Glenn D. Martin II, former state Sen. Jesse Hamilton, a Brooklyn Democrat, developers Tian Ji Li and Yechiel Landau and two of Adams’ political donors, Broadway stage owners Tony and Gina Argento. Adams himself has not been charged and isn’t a target, prosecutors said.
“As alleged, Lewis-Martin consistently overrode the expertise of public servants so she could line her own pockets,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “While she allegedly received more than $75,000 in bribes and an appearance on a TV show, every other New Yorker lost out.”
Prosecutors allege Lewis-Martin took $75,000 in bribes to divert migrant shelter contracts to preferred vendors, renovations of a residential property for thousands of dollars catering for events at Gracie Mansion and City Hall, and fast-tracked permit reviews for a karaoke bar in exchange for $50,000 for her son.
She also allegedly took $2,500 from two Brooklyn business owners to convince city transportation officials to abandon a plan to redesign McGuinness Boulevard, prosecutors allege.
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, called the new charges “politically motivated” a distortion of the truth and a troubling example of politically motivated lawfare.”
“Her only so-called ‘offense’ was fulfilling her duty — helping fellow citizens navigate the City’s outdated and often overwhelming bureaucracy,” she said in a statement. “At no point did she receive a single dollar or any personal benefit for her assistance,” Aidala said. “Yet, the District Attorney seeks to portray a dedicated and honest public servant as a criminal.”
Lewis-Martin resigned from her post as a senior advisor in December ahead of another indictment in which she and her son are accused of taking bribes in exchange for fast-tracking for construction projects. That case is still ongoing.
But the indictments are the latest blow to Adam’s faltering reelection bid as he struggles to win support from voters with polls showing him lagging well behind other candidates in the mayoral race. That includes frontrunner and Democratic nominee Zorhan Mamdani, a Queens Assemblyman and democratic socialist, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent.
Earlier this week, former top Adams aide and campaign advisor Winnie Greco was suspended after she was caught handing a reporter a bag full of cash following a campaign event.
In a statement, the Adams campaign pointed out that the Democrat has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and said “his focus remains on serving the 8.5 million New Yorkers by making our city safer and more affordable every day.”
“While Ingrid Lewis-Martin no longer works for this administration, she has been a friend and colleague of the mayor for over 40 years, and he knows her as a devoted public servant; she has declared her innocence, and his prayers are with her and her family,” campaign spokesman Todd Shaprio said. “Mayor Adams also recognizes that Jesse Hamilton has pleaded not guilty, and like anyone accused, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
