Federal authorities on Thursday raided the Bronx home of a top aide to New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.).
The search targeted Winnie Greco, the mayor’s senior adviser and director of Asian affairs, who came under scrutiny from the city's Department of Investigation after reports emerged accusing her of improperly benefiting from her $100,000-a-year government role. While it remains unclear whether the Thursday raid was connected to the investigation, City Hall officials confirmed the Adams administration has put Greco on leave following the raid.
Greco allegedly solicited a $10,000 donation to her nonprofit from a prominent Chinese-American business executive who wanted to attend a Chinese-themed government event held by Adams. The 61-year-old adviser also allegedly promised a campaign volunteer a job in the Adams administration in exchange for helping renovate her kitchen.
Addressing the raid, a City Hall official said in a statement, "Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines. As we have repeatedly said, we don’t comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing."
The FBI raid of Greco’s house came amid a year-long probe into whether Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign illegally received money from the Turkish government. In November, the FBI seized Adams’s electronic devices, days after raiding the homes of his chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs and international affairs aide Rana Abbasova.