If Adams Is Cleared, Other Inquiries in His Orbit Would Face Uncertainty

The Justice Department has asked prosecutors to drop the criminal charges that had loomed over Mayor Eric Adams, but what about all of the continuing investigations involving his close associates?

The short answer: Many of the cases have been thrown into uncertainty, and the next steps will largely be decided by prosecutors.

The Adams administration has been engulfed by at least five separate federal corruption inquiries. Over the past six months, several City Hall officials have resigned or have had their phones seized by federal agents, destabilizing the highest echelons of New York City’s government.

For the people in the mayor’s orbit who may be cooperating against him in hopes of reducing their own criminal exposure, prosecutors could decide to drop any charges against them as well, to avoid any claims of unfair treatment, legal experts said.

“Now that the main guy is gone, there will be some level of pressure to reconsider the less-culpable people and decide whether it makes sense to continue to prosecute them,” said Mark Chutkow, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit who supervised corruption cases against local officials.

Rana Abbasova, the mayor’s former liaison to the Turkish community, has been cooperating with prosecutors after federal agents searched her home, The New York Times has reported.