A chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with accepting around $120,000 in bribes to steer a city contract for emergency housing for migrants to a Queens hotel, according a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday. The indictment lodges multiple charges of bribery, wire fraud, money laundering, and other crimes against Frank Carone, brother Anthony Carone, Queens hotel owner Yan Po Zhu, and hotel employee Crystal Chen, reports the AP.
Prosecutors said Frank Carone, in his capacity as Adams' chief of staff, accepted a series of bribes from Zhu and Chen in order to steer a multimillion dollar shelter contract to their hotel. The money was passed through a law firm owned by his brother, Anthony Carone, according to the indictment. The contract was awarded as a result of the migrant crisis in 2022, in which southern state governors sent undocumented people to New York by bus. More:
- The city's Social Services Department had initially rejected the hotel's application to house migrants due to growing resistance to the high number of shelters already operating in the neighborhood, the indictment said.
- Carone then interceded on the hotel's behalf, prosecutors allege. In one text exchange in September 2022, Zhu wrote: "Thank you my big guy," according to the indictment.
- Frank Carone played a key role in Adams' campaign for mayor in 2021 and served as Adams' chief of staff in 2022. In 2023, he formed a political consulting firm. He also was a one-time lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
- A rep for Adams said Frank Carone "dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York. This is an ongoing legal matter and my prayers are with his family."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
