Factbox-“I Know”: Excerpts from the Indictment of New York Mayor Eric Adams | The powerful 790 KFGO

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in a five-count criminal indictment unsealed on Thursday, becoming the the city's first sitting mayor to face criminal charges.

The charges include bribery, wire fraud, two counts of soliciting contributions from foreign nationals and conspiracy to commit each of these crimes, covering alleged misconduct spanning nearly a decade.

Adams, 64, faces up to 45 years in prison. He said he was innocent and promised: I will continue to do my job as mayor.

Here are some charges contained in the indictment that have not been proven in court:

* Adams sought and accepted illegal contributions from foreign nationals to his successful 2021 mayoral campaign in exchange for favorable treatment. He planned to solicit more illegal contributions for his 2025 re-election bid, according to the indictment.

* Illegal contributions were routed through U.S.-based straw donors who falsely claimed to have provided the money. Many of the donations were organized by a senior Turkish diplomat. Prosecutors said those involved included an Adams staffer, who owns a Turkish university, and a promoter who sought to leverage Adams' considerable fame in Turkey to benefit his clients.

* Adams defrauded New York City and stole more than $10 million in public funds by seeking matching funds for his 2021 campaign based on the illegal contributions, according to the indictment. The funds were intended to match small donations from New York City residents, to encourage candidates to engage with average New Yorkers.

* The Turkish diplomat arranged for Adams and his companions to receive free or discounted travel on Turkish Airlines to Turkey, China, France, Hungary, India and Sri Lanka, as well as rooms free hotel, meals and entertainment at upscale establishments in Turkey. Adams began secretly accepting free trips in 2016, when he was New York's Brooklyn borough president, prosecutors said.

In one example from the indictment, Adams paid less than $600 total to spend four nights in 2017 and 2019 in suites at the St. Regis Istanbul Hotel that should have cost $10,000.

Adams did not disclose the travel benefits in his annual financial filings. He was accused of sometimes asking others to create false paper trails to suggest he had paid or planned to pay them.

* Adams and his team exchanged text messages in March 2019 about another trip to Türkiye for which a trip would be arranged. The staffer texted Adams: To be o[n the] good side Please delete all messages you send to me. Adams replied: Always do it.

* Adams lobbied the city's firefighters in September 2021 to let Turkey open its new 36-story consulate near the United Nations in time for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit. The building allegedly failed an inspection, prosecutors said.

The pressure began after the Turkish diplomat told Adams' staff that because Turkey had supported Adams, it was his turn to support Turkey. The staffer relayed this message to Adams, who responded I know.

Adams later told the fire marshal that the city should let Turkey occupy the consulate, even though the country's officials know they have problems. The commissioner replied: We will come back to this tomorrow, and through his collaborator, Adams assured the diplomat: I am aware of all this.

Shortly after the building was deemed safe, Adams allegedly accepted more than $14,000 in additional luxury travel benefits.

* After becoming mayor in 2022, Adams favored those who provided him with illegal benefits over those who did not, the indictment says. This included failing to make a statement about the 1915 Armenian genocide at an annual commemoration of the massacre and refusing to meet with the owner of the Turkish university after he failed to arrange the $25,000 of donations promised for the 2021 campaign.

* Adams canceled a dinner planned for November 2023 with the owner of a New York-area Turkish-American community logistics company who wanted to contribute significant sums to his re-election campaign after the federal investigation into the Adams' conduct became public.

* After learning he was under investigation, Adams in November 2023 increased the complexity of his personal cell phone password, saying it was to prevent staff members from deleting his content and to hinder investigators. He then claimed he had forgotten the new password and therefore could not help the FBI unlock the phone, prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Lisa Shumaker)