Eric Adams witnessed other investigations during his career as a public police officer

Eric Adams was a police officer, state senator and borough president before becoming mayor of New York. He was met with investigations at every stop.

The federal indictment filed Thursday against Adams – alleging corruption, wire fraud and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals – goes far beyond his other cases. But it is also the latest ethical controversy for Adams.

A police tribunal punished him for making unauthorized statements while he was a policeman. The city’s Department of Investigation found that Adams violated conflict-of-interest laws while he was Brooklyn’s borough president, but no charges were filed against him.

A 2009 report by the state Inspector General found that Adams, a then-state senator involved in the awarding of video slot prizes at Aqueduct Racetrack, gave unreliable testimony to investigators in the case, accepted campaign money from a gambling company and showed “extraordinarily flawed “assessment of the situation” by attending the winning supplier’s reception. However, unlike the other senators involved, Adams was not charged with ethics violations.

“Adams has led somewhat of a charmed life because he has had to pay the price for flirting with questionable activity,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group.

A spokesman for Adams did not immediately return calls for comment.

Adams became the first New York mayor ever to be impeached while in office when the U.S. attorney’s office brought five corruption charges against the Democrat. The mayor said the allegations are false and he will not resign, although he will certainly be under a lot of pressure to do so.

His office released Adams’ full schedule of events Friday, including some open to the press. He said his lawyers would handle his legal affairs while he ran the city.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the scale of the allegations was “shocking” but stopped short of calling on the mayor to step down immediately.

Here are some of the controversies surrounding Adams.

Casino

In 2009, Adams was a state senator and chairman of the Racing and Wagering Committee, which was involved in selecting the bidder for Aqueduct’s video slot operation.

Then-Gov. David A. Paterson and the state Legislature selected AEG, but the award was later disqualified following a scandal revealed by a state inspector general report that found the selection was driven by lobbyists and political favors.

Ultimately, two other senators were charged with ethics violations. Adams wasn’t there. However, the inspector general said he “maneuvered” the governor into supporting AEG.

The inspector general noted that during the trial, Adams hosted a birthday party at which he received political contributions, some from lobbyists. Additionally, the IG found that Adams and other senators used “exceptionally poor judgment” by going to a state dinner with AEG executives and lobbyists at the lobbyist’s home before the deal was finalized.

Adams always defended his actions, once saying, “My conduct during this trial was always appropriate and beyond reproach.”

But watchdogs called it a black mark for a state government that is still fondly remembered in the halls of Albany.

“It was a damning report on how the Senate handled it, and it set the casino trial back for years,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York-based Public Interest Research Group. “It painted a picture of Albany politics at its worst.”

NYPD

According to numerous media reports, Adams worked as a police officer for 22 years and was the subject of several internal investigations. One focused on his relationships with people convicted of crimes, including former boxer Mike Tyson. Investigators did not find that Adams broke any rules.

However, in 2006, a police tribunal found him guilty of violating the law by speaking on behalf of the New York Police Department without authorization. Adams had some of his holiday pay taken away.

In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, Adams said: “Examine my Internal Affairs Bureau investigations and you’ll see they all found the same thing. Eric didn’t do anything wrong.”

Brooklyn

When Adams became borough president, he created the One Brooklyn Fund to help residents access services. However, the nonprofit organization attracted the attention of investigators for its promotion of Adams and its fundraising efforts.

The city’s Department of Investigation found that the nonprofit did not follow conflict-of-interest rules by hosting an event at Borough Hall during which some attendees, some of whom were applying for grants, were asked about their financial support of the organization.

In a separate incident, DOI determined that Adams’ office improperly attempted to license the mayor to use Borough Hall for an anti-domestic violence event for a licensing fee to One Brooklyn.

Adams faced no consequences for either incident.