New York City Mayor Eric Adams—who truly believes that God put him in that job—was indicted this week on five federal charges related to bribery, wire fraud, and accepting straw donations from foreign officials. The acts detailed in the nearly 60-page indictment from the Southern District of New York span a full decade of Adams’ political career, dating back to his tenure as Brooklyn borough president and extending up through his current mayoral reelection campaign. (He pleaded not guilty to the counts on Friday.)
Despite being the only mayor in NYC history to be charged during his tenure, Adams is still doing what he does best: refusing to budge an inch and clumsily making his case before a city that’s long tired of his shenanigans. “From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city,” he declared during a rainy Thursday morning press conference, sheltering under a pavilion with members of the city’s Black clergy. “My day-to-day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.”
It was another wild moment from a mayor who is perhaps best recognized outside the city for having a long history of wild moments. You know, like claiming his favorite concert experience was the 1990 Brooklyn live show where Curtis Mayfield was paralyzed, or downing two beers at a Midtown Irish pub before noon on St. Patrick’s Day and deeming himself “Eric O’Adams,” or wearing a lettered bracelet sporting the word HUSTLE while visiting holy sites in Israel.
Since he entered Gracie Mansion in 2022, Hizzoner has invited mass vitriol for slashing municipal public services while coddling the brutal, corrupt police department and demonizing the city’s immigrants. But now, with the feds pursuing several probes into his inner circle and spurring some of his highest-ranking lieutenants to step down … well, let’s just say it’s difficult to imagine how even a mayor as defiant as this one manages to last in the political realm.
We’ll probably learn a lot over the coming months about just how closely intertwined Adams was with Turkey’s government, which will surely provide us with much more fodder in evaluating the man’s legacy. But in the interim, let’s enjoy a trek down memory lane with a highlight reel of his most ridiculous moments.
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