New York
Tracking Investigations In Eric Adams’s Orbit
Investigations into Adams and associates
Adams, his campaign and Turkey
Senior City Hall aides and associates
Former police commissioner’s brother
Eric Adams
Timothy Pearson
Philip Banks III
David C. Banks
Sheena Wright
Edward A. Caban
Winnie Greco
Brianna Suggs
Eric Ulrich
Rana Abbasova
Raul Pintos
James Caban
Terence Banks
Dwayne Montgomery
Cenk Öcal
Queens precinct commander
Queens precinct commander
Investigations into Adams and associates
Adams, his campaign and Turkey
Senior City Hall aides and associates
Former police commissioner’s brother
Several federal corruption investigations have reached people in the orbit of Mayor Eric Adams of New York, with Mr. Adams and some of the highest-ranking officials in his administration coming under scrutiny.
Officials with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, which is conducting three of the four federal criminal investigations, have declined to answer questions about the scope of the inquiries.
The full scope of the federal investigations is unclear. Neither the mayor nor others who have had their homes searched, their devices seized or information sought from them have been charged with a crime, and it is possible some of those targeted for searches are only witnesses. The city’s Department of Investigation is involved in all four inquiries.
State-level prosecutions and civil cases have also hit the Adams administration.
Here is a closer look at how people with ties to Mr. Adams, who faces re-election next year, are related to the investigations.
Federal inquiry into Adams, his campaign and ties to Turkey
Eric Adams
Mayor
Devices seized and subpoenaed
Brianna Suggs
Former chief fund-raiser
Reassigned after home search and devices seizure
Rana Abbasova
Aide on leave
Cooperating with inquiry after home search
Cenk Öcal
Former Turkish Airlines executive
Home searched
This investigation, by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, appears to be focused in part on whether the Adams 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, and whether Mr. Adams pressured the Fire Department to approve a new high-rise Turkish consulate, despite safety concerns.
Last November, the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, Mr. Adams’s chief fund-raiser at the time, was searched by federal agents. Weeks later, he said she would leave the role.
Federal agents also searched the New Jersey homes of Rana Abbasova, an aide in the mayor’s international affairs office and a former liaison to the Turkish community for Mr. Adams, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on the mayor’s transition team. Ms. Abbasova is cooperating with the investigation.
F.B.I. agents stopped Mr. Adams outside an event in November and seized his electronic devices. In July, prosecutors served a new round of grand jury subpoenas to Mr. Adams, his office and his campaign for a range of materials.
Federal inquiry into ex-police commissioner’s twin brother
Edward A. Caban
Former police commissioner
Resigned after phone seized
Raul Pintos
Chief of staff under Caban
Phone seized
James Caban
Former police officer
Phone seized
Queens precinct commander
Phone seized
Queens precinct commander
Phone seized
At the request of City Hall, Edward A. Caban resigned as police commissioner this week, just days after federal agents seized his phone. Raul Pintos, who served as chief of staff under Mr. Caban, and the commanders of two Queens precincts also had their phones seized.
This investigation, by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, appears to be focused on a nightclub-security business owned by Mr. Caban’s twin brother, James Caban. A former New York City police officer who was fired in 2001, James Caban also had his phone seized.
Lawyers for Edward Caban have said prosecutors told them he was not a target of the investigation.
Federal inquiry into senior City Hall aides and associates
Timothy Pearson
Senior adviser to the mayor
Information sought from
Philip Banks III
Deputy mayor for public safety
Phone seized
David C. Banks
Schools chancellor
Phones seized
Sheena Wright
First deputy mayor
Phone seized
Terence Banks
Consultant
Home searched and phone seized
This investigation, by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, appears to center on a possible bribery scheme involving a government-relations consulting company run by Terence Banks, a brother of Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety, and of David C. Banks, the schools chancellor.
Terence Banks also helped raise funds for Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign and was on his transition committee.
The investigation, which appears to be in the early stages, appears to be focused at least partly on city contracts issued under programs geared toward small companies owned by women and members of minority groups.
This month, federal agents seized the phones of several top City Hall aides: the first deputy mayor, Sheena Wright; David Banks, her partner; and Philip Banks. Investigators also sought information from Timothy Pearson, a senior adviser to Mr. Adams who is one of the mayor’s closest confidants.
A lawyer for Terence Banks said he and his client had been “assured by the government” that Mr. Banks was not the target of the investigation. A lawyer for Philip Banks said his client had done nothing wrong. David Banks said he was cooperating with a federal inquiry, and told reporters his lawyer had been informed that Mr. Banks was “absolutely not a target in whatever this investigation is about.”
Other investigations and legal matters
Winnie Greco
Former campaign fund-raiser
Multiple homes searched
Eric Ulrich
Former buildings commissioner
Charged with taking bribes
Dwayne Montgomery
Former police inspector
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy
Timothy Pearson
Senior adviser to the mayor
The fourth federal investigation, run by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, led to a search in February of homes owned by Winnie Greco, a close aide to Mr. Adams who was then his director of Asian affairs and a prominent campaign fund-raiser.
City officials said at the time that Ms. Greco would be placed on unpaid leave during the inquiry, but the website The City reported in May she had returned to a government job. The prosecutors’ office declined to answer questions.
Last year, Eric Ulrich, a one-time Department of Buildings commissioner appointed to the post by Mr. Adams, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on 16 felonies, including conspiracy and taking bribes. He had previously resigned after news of the investigation became public. According to court records, Mr. Ulrich has pleaded not guilty.
In February, a retired police inspector, Dwayne Montgomery, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor state charges in Manhattan, admitting that he had directed so-called straw donors — people who make campaign donations with someone else’s money — to contribute to the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
Mr. Pearson also faces several lawsuits involving sexual harassment accusations. A lawyer representing him denied wrongdoing on his behalf. In recent days, two security guards, whom Mr. Pearson was seen physically attacking at a Midtown migrant shelter last fall, said that they planned to sue him and the city for false arrest and malicious prosecution. A lawyer representing him had not responded for comment.
Earlier this year, a woman sued Mr. Adams, accusing him of asking for oral sex in exchange for career help in 1993 and sexually assaulting her when she refused. Mr. Adams has denied assaulting the woman.
Every week since 1976, Metropolitan Diary has published stories by, and for, New Yorkers of all ages and eras (no matter where they live now): anecdotes and memories, quirky encounters and overheard snippets that reveal the city’s spirit and heart.
For the past four years, we’ve asked for your help picking the best Diary entry of the year. Now we’re asking again.
We’ve narrowed the field to the five finalists here. Read them and vote for your favorite. The author of the item that gets the most votes will receive a print of the illustration that accompanied it, signed by the artist, Agnes Lee.
The voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21. You can change your vote as many times as you’d like until then, but you may only pick one. Choose wisely.
Click “VOTE” to choose your favorite Metropolitan Diary entry of 2025, and come back on Sunday, Dec. 28, to see which one our readers picked as their favorite.
Click “VOTE” to choose your favorite Metropolitan Diary entry of 2025, and come back on Sunday, Dec. 28, to see which one our readers picked as their favorite.
Two Stops
Dear Diary:
It was a drizzly June night in 2001. I was a young magazine editor and had just enjoyed what I thought was a very blissful second date — dinner, drinks, fabulous conversation — with our technology consultant at a restaurant in Manhattan.
I lived in Williamsburg at the time, and my date lived near Murray Hill, so we grabbed a cab and headed south on Second Avenue.
“Just let me out here,” my date said to the cabby at the corner of 25th Street.
We said our goodbyes, quick and shy, knowing that we would see each other at work the next day. I was giddy and probably grinning with happiness and hope.
“Oh boy,” the cabby said, shaking his head as we drove toward Brooklyn. “Very bad.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in horror.
“He doesn’t want you to know exactly where he lives,” the cabby said. “Not a good sign.”
I spent the rest of the cab ride in shock, revisiting every moment of the date.
Happily, it turned out that my instinct about it being a great date was right, and the cabby was wrong. Twenty-four years later, my date that night is my husband, and I know that if your stop is first, it’s polite to get out so the cab can continue in a straight line to the next stop.
Ferry Farewell
Dear Diary:
On a February afternoon, I met my cousins at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Their spouses and several of our very-grown children were there too. I brought Prosecco, a candle, a small speaker to play music, photos and a poem.
We were there to recreate the wedding cruise of my mother, Monica, and my stepfather, Peter. They had gotten married at City Hall in August 1984. She was 61, and he, 71. It was her first marriage, and his fourth.
I was my mother’s witness that day. It was a late-in-life love story, and they were very happy. Peter died in 1996, at 82. My mother died last year. She was 100.
Peter’s ashes had waited a long time, but finally they were mingled with Monica’s. The two of them would ride the ferry a last time and then swirl together in the harbor forever. Cue the candles, bubbly, bagpipes and poems.
Two ferry workers approached us. We knew we were in trouble: Open containers and open flames were not allowed on the ferry.
My cousin’s husband, whispering, told the workers what we were doing and said we would be finished soon.
They walked off, and then returned. They said they had spoken to the captain, and they ushered us to the stern for some privacy. As the cup of ashes flew into the water, the ferry horn sounded two long blasts.
Unacceptable
Dear Diary:
I went to a new bagel store in Brooklyn Heights with my son.
When it was my turn to order, I asked for a cinnamon raisin bagel with whitefish salad and a slice of red onion.
The man behind the counter looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do that.”
Teresa
Dear Diary:
It was February 2013. With a foot of snow expected, I left work early and drove from New Jersey warily as my wipers squeaked and snow and ice stuck to my windows.
I drove east on the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was tied up worse than usual. Trucks groaned on either side of my rattling Toyota. My fingers were cold. My toes were colder. Got to get home before it really comes down, I thought to myself.
By the time I got home to my little red bungalow a stone’s throw from the Throgs Neck Bridge, the snow was already up to my ankles.
Inside, I took off my gloves, hat, scarf, coat, sweater, pants and snow boots. The bed, still unmade, was inviting me. But first, I checked my messages.
There was one from Teresa, the 92-year-old widow on the corner.
“Call me,” she said, sounding desperate.
I looked toward the warm bed, but … Teresa. There was a storm outside, and she was alone.
On went the pants, the sweater, the coat, the scarf, the boots and the gloves, and then I went out the door.
The snow was six inches deep on the sidewalks, so I tottered on tire tracks in the middle of the street. The wind stung my face. When I got to the end of the block, I pounded on her door.
“Teresa!” I called. No answer. “Teresa!” I called again. I heard the TV blaring. Was she sprawled on the floor?
I went next door and called for Kathy.
“Teresa can’t answer the door,” I said. “Probably fell.”
Kathy had a key. In the corner of her neat living room, Teresa, in pink sweatpants and sweaters, was sitting curled in her armchair, head bent down and The Daily News in her lap.
I snapped off the TV.
Startled, she looked up.
“Kathy! Neal!” she said. “What’s a five-letter word for cabbage?”
Nice Place
Dear Diary:
When I lived in Park Slope over 20 years ago, I once had to call an ambulance because of a sudden, violent case of food poisoning.
Two paramedics, a man and a woman, entered our third-floor walk-up with a portable chair. Strapping me in, the male medic quickly inserted an IV line into my arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his partner circling around and admiring the apartment.
“Nice place you’ve got here.” she said. “Do you own it?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, all but unconscious.
Once I was in the ambulance, she returned to her line of inquiry.
“Do you mind me asking how much you paid for your apartment?”
“$155,000,” I croaked.
“Wow! You must have bought during the recession.”
“Yeah” I said.
They dropped me off at Methodist Hospital, where I was tended to by a nurse as I struggled to stay lucid.
At some point, the same medic poked her head into the room with one last question:
“You wouldn’t be wanting to sell any time soon, would you?”
Illustrations by Agnes Lee.
‘Part of the job’
Edwin Guity was at the controls of a southbound D train last December, rolling through the Bronx, when suddenly someone was on the tracks in front of him.
He jammed on the emergency brake, but it was too late. The man had gone under the wheels.
Stumbling over words, Mr. Guity radioed the dispatcher and then did what the rules require of every train operator involved in such an incident. He got out of the cab and went looking for the person he had struck.
“I didn’t want to do it,” Mr. Guity said later. “But this is a part of the job.”
He found the man pinned beneath the third car. Paramedics pulled him out, but the man died at the hospital. After that, Mr. Guity wrestled with what to do next.
A 32-year-old who had once lived in a family shelter with his parents, he viewed the job as paying well and offering a rare chance at upward mobility. It also helped cover the costs of his family’s groceries and rent in the three-bedroom apartment they shared in Brooklyn.
But striking the man with the train had shaken him more than perhaps any other experience in his life, and the idea of returning to work left him feeling paralyzed.
Edwin Guity was prescribed exposure therapy after his train struck a man on the tracks.
Hundreds of train operators have found themselves in Mr. Guity’s position over the years.
And for just as long, there has been a path through the state workers’ compensation program to receiving substantive treatment to help them cope. But New York’s train operators say that their employer, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has done too little to make them aware of that option.
After Mr. Guity’s incident, no official told him of that type of assistance, he said. Instead, they gave him the option of going back to work right away.
But Mr. Guity was lucky. He had a friend who had been through the same experience and who coached him on getting help — first through a six-week program and then, with the assistance of a lawyer, through an experienced specialist.
The specialist prescribed a six-month exposure therapy program to gradually reintroduce Mr. Guity to the subway.
His first day back at the controls of a passenger train was on Thanksgiving. Once again, he was driving on the D line — the same route he had been traveling on the day of the fatal accident.
M.T.A. representatives insisted that New York train operators involved in strikes are made aware of all options for getting treatment, but they declined to answer specific questions about how the agency ensures that drivers get the help they need.
In an interview, the president of the M.T.A. division that runs the subway, Demetrius Crichlow, said all train operators are fully briefed on the resources available to them during their job orientation.
“I really have faith in our process,” Mr. Crichlow said.
Still, other transit systems — all of which are smaller than New York’s — appear to do a better job of ensuring that operators like Mr. Guity take advantage of the services available to them, according to records and interviews.
A Times analysis shows that the incidents were on the rise in New York City’s system even as they were falling in all other American transit systems.
An Uptick in Subway Strikes
San Francisco’s system provides 24-hour access to licensed therapists through a third-party provider.
Los Angeles proactively reaches out to its operators on a regular basis to remind them of workers’ compensation options and other resources.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has made it a goal to increase engagement with its employee assistance program.
The M.T.A. says it offers some version of most of these services.
But in interviews with more than two dozen subway operators who have been involved in train strikes, only one said he was aware of all those resources, and state records suggest most drivers of trains that strike people are not taking full advantage of them.
“It’s the M.T.A.’s responsibility to assist the employee both mentally and physically after these horrific events occur,” the president of the union that represents New York City transit workers, John V. Chiarello, said in a statement, “but it is a constant struggle trying to get the M.T.A. to do the right thing.”
new video loaded: Protesters Arrested After Trying to Block a Possible ICE Raid
transcript
transcript
Protesters Arrested After Trying to Block a Possible ICE Raid
Nearly 200 protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving a parking garage in Lower Manhattan on Saturday. The confrontation appeared to prevent a possible ICE raid nearby, and led to violent clashes between the police and protesters.
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[chanting] “ICE out of New York.”
By Jorge Mitssunaga
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