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Adams Campaign Fails to Return Tainted Donations Despite Promises: Reports

Breaking NewsAdams Campaign Fails to Return Tainted Donations Despite Promises: Reports

Mayor Adams’ campaign is under scrutiny as it has yet to refund tens of thousands of dollars in donations linked to Eric Ulrich, the indicted former head of the Buildings Department. The campaign’s lawyer had announced four months ago that the funds were in the process of being sent back.


Main Points:

– The campaign of Mayor Adams has not returned tens of thousands of dollars in donations linked to indicted ex-Buildings Department boss Eric Ulrich.
– A lawyer for the campaign assured nearly four months ago that the money was being refunded.
– The funds include donations from Ulrich, his six co-defendants, and relatives who collectively contributed nearly $32,000 to Mayor Adams’ 2021 campaign.
– Adams’ campaign says the refund delay is due to the ongoing FBI investigation into foreign contributions.


Former Buildings Commissioner Ulrich, the inaugural holder of the position under Adams, faced multiple indictments from the Manhattan district attorney’s office in September 2023. He stands accused of accepting bribes totaling $150,000 from six co-defendants. Prosecutors allege Ulrich manipulated his office’s powers, securing benefits such as swift health inspections and city jobs for his co-defendants.

Campaign Donations Under Investigation

Ulrich, along with his co-defendants, jointly donated nearly $8,000 to the Adams campaign in 2021. Additionally, the co-defendants’ relatives contributed an estimated $24,000. After Ulrich was charged, Adams’ compliance lawyer, Vito Pitta, assured the public in late September 2023 that the campaign had initiated the process of refunding all connected donations.

Despite the previous assurance by Pitta, the campaign’s latest legally mandated disclosure shows that it has not returned any of the contributions from Ulrich or his relative co-defendants.

Pitta attributed the delay in refunds to the FBI’s ongoing inquiry into whether the Turkish government surreptitiously funneled illegal foreign money into Adams’ campaign coffers. The federal probe, according to Pitta, also disrupted other campaign operations.

Unclear Connection Between FBI Inquiry and Refunds

The FBI investigation only became publicly known when federal agents searched the home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, over a month after Pitta claimed money was being refunded. The relationship between the FBI probe and the refund delay is yet to be explicitly outlined by Pitta.

Adams’s campaign made refunds on other donations during the latest reporting window, as per the new disclosure. However, it has yet to refund approximately $14,000 that came from 11 employees of KSK Construction, a Brooklyn-based contractor now at the focus of the FBI’s Turkey investigation.

The KSK donations, all made on May 7, 2021, have sparked controversy after revelations that the FBI suspects the construction company might have played a part in funneling illegal foreign funding into Adams’ campaign. However, the campaign has not returned these funds due to advice from counsel to hold off until ongoing investigations conclude.

As of now, neither Mayor Adams nor any individual linked to his campaign have faced accusations in the ongoing FBI probe. The investigation has yet to produce any tangible results, and until it does, Pitta maintains that the KSK contributions will be preserved.

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