Ingrid Lewis-Martin is expected to surrender in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday morning on a corruption indictment, numerous published reports indicated Wednesday evening.
Lewis-Martin, the long-time adviser to Mayor Eric Adams who stepped down on Sunday from her post, said Monday she was falsely accused in a pending grand jury indictment brought forth through the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. She and her attorney, Arthur Aidala, held a press conference on Dec. 16 getting out in front of the charges, denying any wrongdoing in the matter.
That press conference occurred a day after The New York Times, citing sources familiar with the investigation, said that the grand jury was investigating corruption allegations against Lewis-Martin as well as her son, Glenn Martin II, and hotelier Mayank Dwivedi. Both Martin II and Dwivedi are also expected to be part of the same indictment, according to published reports.
An American chaplain, Lewis-Martin served as Adams’ chief aide since he took office in 2022. Before that, she worked with Adams as his chief of staff in the NYS Senate and was his senior advisor during his two terms as Brooklyn borough president.
In September, she was served with a subpoena by federal authorities just as she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a trip to Japan. Federal agents also raided Lewis-Martin’s Brooklyn home, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized her phone. According to reports at the time, she was not home when the raid occurred, but her family was.
At Monday’s press conference with Aidala, Lewis-Martin defended her reputation built over 35 years of service in all three levels of government, saying that she has never profited from any office that she held.
“During my tenure, I have never taken any gifts, money, anything,” she said. “I have not made any arrangements in advance to take any gifts or money, or to have any gifts or money given to a family member to do my job.”
Taking a page out of Mayor Adams’ playbook following his criminal indictment in September, Lewis-Martin not only denied the impending charges Monday but also suggested the case was politically motivated.
“I am being falsely accused of something,” she added Monday. “I have never done anything wrong in my capacity in government.”
