‘They can kiss my ass’: Top Adams aide ran brazen pressure campaign, indictments claim
NEW YORK — The former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams ran audacious bribery schemes out of City Hall — selling off her help as a public official four different times to people willing to shower her with money or gifts, according to a series of indictments unsealed Thursday.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief adviser to the mayor, is accused by a grand jury of helping friends secure lucrative city contracts and expediting their regulatory issues with city government in exchange for cash payments to her son, free home renovations, nearly $10,000 worth of seafood for city events and even a guest appearance on the TV show “Godfather of Harlem.”
Lewis-Martin used her influence as Adams’ longest-serving aide and “overrode other City officials’ expertise and decision making to ensure that certain required actions were accomplished for the benefit of her co-conspirators,” prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office wrote in a sweeping and detail-rich summary of the indictments.
Adams, who is facing long odds as he runs for reelection as an independent, is not accused of wrongdoing in any of the cases. But they are just the latest allegations of corruption to cloud Adams’ time in City Hall — an issue that seems destined to define his tenure in office.
That includes the mayor’s own federal corruption charges alleging a bribery conspiracy by the Turkish government — a case that was dismissed following the intervention of President Donald Trump’s administration. But the allegations also include state corruption charges against Adams’ former buildings commissioner, a series of guilty pleas involving straw donor schemes to the mayor’s campaign and other federal criminal investigations leading to the resignation of several high ranking administration officials.
Lewis-Martin was arraigned in criminal court in Manhattan Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree, and four counts of bribe receiving in the second degree. Her lawyer downplayed the charges and specifically denied the accusation she received a $2,500 cash payment in exchange for fighting against a street safety redesign.
“Her only so-called ‘offense’ was fulfilling her duty—helping fellow citizens navigate the City’s outdated and often overwhelming bureaucracy. At no point did she receive a single dollar or any personal benefit for her assistance,” Arthur L. Aidala said in a statement.
“Yet, the District Attorney seeks to portray a dedicated and honest public servant as a criminal. This is not justice — it is a distortion of the truth and a troubling example of politically motivated ‘lawfare,’” Aidala added, saying Lewis-Martin will “vigorously fight these charges.”
Adams defended Lewis-Martin in a statement, and said he wouldn’t let the indictments distract him.
“I have not been accused of any wrongdoing, and my focus remains on serving the 8.5 million New Yorkers by making our city safer and more affordable every day,” Adams said. “While Ingrid Lewis-Martin no longer works for this administration, she has been a friend and colleague for over 40 years, and I know her as a devoted public servant; she has declared her innocence, and my prayers are with her and her family.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office alleges four different schemes.
Another longtime Adams ally Jesse Hamilton, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, is charged alongside Lewis-Martin in one case where the pair is accused of promoting real estate developer Yehiel Landau’s projects in exchange for more than $5,000 worth of renovations on homes owned by both city officials.
Hamilton resigned Thursday, DCAS Commissioner Louis Molina said in a statement, and noted that Hamilton never had independent authority to execute leases and he was subject to increased oversight.
In another case, Lewis-Martin is accused of steering city contracts providing housing for asylum seekers to a friend who owned a karaoke club. In return, prosecutors allege Tian Ji Li paid Martin’s son Glenn Martin II $50,000 and provided karaoke parties for Lewis-Martin.
“Whatever site TJ wants, I need him to get them,” Lewis-Martin texted Hamilton about Li, according to the indictment, “Because that’s our fucking people.”
In a third case, Lewis-Martin is accused of advocating against the city’s plans for a street redesign to help Gina and Tony Argento, leaders of a film production company who opposed the project. Gina Argento paid Lewis-Martin $2,500 for her help, prosecutors claim, provided free catering services to the city and helped Lewis-Martin secure a speaking role on the TV show “Godfather of Harlem.”
From her perch in City Hall, Lewis-Martin eagerly fought the redesign plan that had been chosen by the Department of Transportation. Prosecutors say she texted Gina Argento a flyer promoting the plan. “We do not care what they say,” Lewis-Martin wrote. “We are ignoring them and continuing with our plan. They can kiss my ass.”
And finally, Lewis-Martin is accused of helping expedite issues with the Department of Buildings for an unnamed friend in exchange for “free seafood … valued at almost $10,000” for various events at City Hall and the mayor’s residence in the spring and summer of 2024.
Along with Lewis-Martin, her son and Hamilton, the four business people were charged with conspiracy and bribery Thursday. All pleaded not guilty.
Judge Daniel Conviser expressed frustration trying to schedule the first appearance for the defendants across four cases. “I’m sorry, there’s like ten people, and I’ve got to have everybody here at one time and everybody’s got different schedules,” he said, predicting there would be “a massive amount of discovery.”
Lewis-Martin resigned from City Hall in December before being indicted on separate corruption charges to which she pleaded not guilty. She continued to volunteer for Adams’ reelection campaign despite that, playing the role of political adviser in which she served Adams for two decades.
Married to one of Adams’ friends from his time in the NYPD, Lewis-Martin helped Adams get elected to the state Senate in 2006, and the two of them masterminded a long-term plan to make him mayor — culminating in his 2021 election.
The indictments were unsealed just a day after another longtime Adams aide, Winnie Greco, gave a reporter from THE CITY cash stuffed in a potato chip bag in an apparent bribery attempt, the nonprofit news outlet reported. Greco has been mentored by Lewis-Martin and worked with her in City Hall until she resigned under pressure last October.
Politics
