Mayor Eric Adams said Friday he has not been contacted directly by federal authorities following FBI raids on properties owned by and connected to one of his top aides on Feb. 29.
The mayor’s comments followed searches of two Bronx homes owned by and a building containing offices used by, his Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco — who is also his longtime close associate. The raids were conducted at houses Greco owns on Gillespie Avenue in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx and at the New World Mall, where she worked in offices used by Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, early Thursday, according to the federal authorities and the news site THE CITY.
Greco has been placed on sick leave following a medical incident that occurred during the raid and prompted federal agents to call an ambulance for her, according to an Adams administration source. Once Greco’s medical episode, the details of which the source declined to disclose, is over she will remain on leave, which will be unpaid absent any paid time off she may have accrued, they said.
Those details came after Adams earlier said Greco was on sick leave during a Friday interview on Pix11. Asked if the sick leave was connected to the raid, Adams said, “not at this time.” He added there would be “an evaluation” to see if Greco could return to her government duties, which she will not be performing while on leave.
Greco is the third person close to the mayor to have their home searched by the FBI. The other two were Adams’ former top fundraiser Brianna Suggs, who still works on his campaign, and City Hall staffer Rana Abasova.
While the actions involving Suggs and Absova were part of an inquiry by federal prosecutors in Manhattan into the mayor’s 2021 campaign fundraising practices, the search of Greco’s home appears to be part of a separate federal investigation out of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, according to the New York Times.
The mayor, while conducting a series of TV and radio interviews on Friday morning, was first asked by NY1 host Pat Kiernan if he had been contacted by the feds as a result of the raids.
“No, not at all,” Adams said in response.
The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In a subsequent interview on Fox5, the mayor said he had “not received any indication” that he is a target of the investigations connected to the raids on his aides’ homes.
When asked if he is worried if he is the target of the investigation after three people close to him have been revealed to be under federal investigation, Adams said “no, I am not worried.”
“I’ve lived by one rule that I share with everyone: follow the rules, follow the law,” he continued. “I did this my entire life as a law enforcement officer. I’m going to continue to do that.”
Greco is also currently the subject of a city Department of Investigation probe for allegedly using her government position for personal benefit. Among the allegations city investigators are looking into are whether Greco convinced an Adams campaign staffer to do unpaid work on her home in order to get a job in the administration and whether she asked a business executive to donate $10,000 to a nonprofit she founded in order to enter a Gracie Mansion event, which were revealed in a report by THE CITY.
Greco is a longtime close aide and major fundraiser for the mayor, dating back to his time as Brooklyn borough president.
The federal probe into Adams’ 2021 campaign that ensnared Suggs and Abasova is looking into whether the operation worked with the Turkish government to illegally receive foreign donations through straw donors. Adams also had his own personal electronic devices, including his phone, seized by the FBI as part of that investigation.
