BSS
  26 Sep 2024, 08:13

New York mayor indicted on federal criminal charges: US media

NEW YORK, Sept 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - New York Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, US media reported Wednesday, following multiple probes into alleged corruption within his administration and resignations of top officials.

The exact charges in the sealed indictment were not yet clear, according to the New York Times, which added that Adams is now the first sitting New York mayor to face such charges.

At least four federal probes are underway against the Democratic ex-cop, including three led by the US district court in Manhattan, investigating people in the mayor's orbit and high-ranking officials in his administration.

Adams, who is up for reelection in 2025, has put up a front of business as usual throughout the investigations.

Earlier in the day, US House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on the 64-year-old mayor to resign "for the good of the city" -- the first time a national figure has publicly urged him to step down from running the United States' largest city.

The indictment comes in an already dark week for Adams, whose team has been shaken by the resignations of Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and Education Chancellor David Banks, a close friend of the mayor whose department manages the city's public education system that serves one million students.

Those departures, effective at the end of 2024, follow the immediate resignations of police chief Edward Caban -- who quit just one year after he took charge of the city's police force and its 36,000 uniformed officers -- and Adams's chief legal adviser, Lisa Zornberg.

Caban, whose electronics were seized by federal investigators, stepped down as federal agents appeared to be zeroing in on his twin brother's nightclub-security business.

Revelations of the probes have laid bare personal and business ties among the inner circle of the mayor, raising potential conflicts of interest.