From a key figure in a sprawling NYPD bribery case to an indicted former city buildings commissioner: Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle is filled with controversy and turmoil.
Hizzoner, who has repeatedly put his longtime aides and allies on the Big Apple’s payroll, has long raised eyebrows for some of his hiring decisions — or mere associations.
Now, an FBI raid on the Brooklyn home of a top fundraiser Brianna Suggs on Thursday has thrust his inner circle back into the spotlight.
Here’s a look at some of Adams’ pals whose hirings or associations have drawn criticism or controversy.
Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Mayor Adams, is the latest of Hizzoner’s cronies to land in hot water.
Suggs, whose Brooklyn home was raided by the feds Thursday, is a close consultant whose firm, Suggs Solutions LLC, has earned more than $150,000 from the mayor’s campaign team since back in 2021.
She is on a monthly retainer for Adams’ political work, city records show. Suggs has also received more than $16,500 in personal payments from the mayor’s accounts, according to campaign finance filings.
Suggs’ ties to Adams date back to when he was Brooklyn’s borough president where she was enlisted as one of his aides, sources said.
She is also believed to have a close knit relationship with Chaplain Ingrid Lewis-Martin — the mayor’s chief advisor, the sources added.
Hizzoner faced blowback when it emerged he had tapped ex-NYPD chief, Philip Banks, to serve as his administration’s deputy mayor of public safety — despite his ties to a sweeping federal police corruption case involving cops and hookers.
Banks, then the NYPD’s chief of department, stunned the Big Apple back in 2014 when he suddenly retired after turning down a promotion to first deputy commissioner.
It later emerged that he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the NYPD bribery scheme orchestrated by two fundraisers for outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio — Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg.
Banks’ and other cops’ relationships with the duo had come under scrutiny as the feds probed whether the businessmen had doled out gifts and foreign trips in exchange for favors.
Banks has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and pointed to the fact that the feds never brought criminal charges against him as proof of his innocence.
Disgraced former city buildings commissioner, Eric Ulrich, 38, was indicted in September for allegedly running a years-long scheme doling out political favors in exchange for more than $150,000 in bribes.
Ulrich stepped down from his lucrative job as the Big Apple’s onetime top building-safety official late last year — just days after it emerged he was being probed as part of a criminal gambling investigation.
He has since pleaded not guilty to a total of 16 felonies that stem from his time serving in three political posts – including his days as Adams’ building chief, a Queens councilman and as one of the mayor’s senior advisors.
Ulrich “monetized each and every elected role that he held in government,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said when he announced the charges.
Among the cache of gifts and cash he allegedly collected over a two-year period was a premium $10,000 Mets season tickets package, a bespoke suit and a painting by an apprentice of Salvador Dali.
Prosecutors alleged Ulrich spent much of the cash on gambling at legal and illegal casinos.
The mayor raised eyebrows when he hired Timothy Pearson — a gaming executive and close friend from his days in the NYPD — as a top public safety advisor to his administration last year.
Among other things, his hiring sparked controversy after it was revealed he was collecting two taxpayer-funded paychecks: His new City Hall salary and his six-figure pension as a retired NYPD inspector.
Prior to taking up his current role, Pearson had spent a decade as the top official in charge of security at the Resorts World New York City casino, the slots operation attached to the Aqueduct Raceway in Queens.
His appointment to the government role raised ethics questions, at the time, given his former company was seeking to expand in Queens.
Separately, Pearson made headlines earlier this month after he got into a heated scuffle with a security guard at a Manhattan migrant assistance center while he tried to enter the facility for a standard inspection.
Chaplain Ingrid Lewis-Martin may not hold a title of deputy mayor but she has staked out a powerful role within Adams’ administration as his chief advisor.
Since taking on the role, Lewis-Martin — who has been Adams’ closest ally and longtime right-hand since his days as Brooklyn borough president — has earned a reputation within City Hall for overriding other officials and speaking with the weight of the mayor, sources told the New York Times.
After winning the mayoral election, some of Adams’ supporters had reportedly tried to dissuade him from tapping Lewis-Martin as the key advisor amid fears she would cause a divide within City Hall.
In an interview with the outlet, Lewis-Martin — who has called herself the mayor’s “sister ordained by God” — said she was told she could have job she wanted within Adams’ administration.
She admitted to creating her current role due to its flexibility, adding: “I can pick and choose which weeds to be in.”