(New York) If we accept the definition of the word nepotism of Little Robertit is difficult not to conclude that New York Mayor Eric Adams is one of its champions: “The abuse of influence by a person in office in favor of his family, his friends.”
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Nepotism is one reason why elected officials in his own party are calling for the 64-year-old Democrat to resign.
The latter will begin the last year of his term as mayor of the American metropolis in January, if he retains his post by then.
The term borrowed from Italian nepotism also helps to untangle the incredible tangle of searches and federal investigations that envelop Eric Adams and his entourage.
The Banks
Let’s start with the Banks brothers – Phil, David and Terence – whose father, Philip Jr., was one of Eric Adams’ lieutenants and friends when the latter served as a captain in the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Phil is now New York City’s deputy mayor for public safety. David is the city’s chief of public schools. And Terence runs a consulting firm that offers to guide clients through the maze of city government.
Eric Adams considers the Banks brothers dear friends and, in the case of Phil and David, valued collaborators.
But on September 4, FBI agents raided the Banks brothers’ homes and seized their phones. They also seized the phone of David’s girlfriend, Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor.
The searches and seizures were part of one of five federal investigations targeting Mayor Adams and a total of 15 members of his administration since last year. This time, corruption and influence peddling are alleged to be the cause, according to New York media reports.
Investigators are reportedly looking into whether Banks played a role in awarding city contracts to his brother Terence’s clients.
This isn’t Phil’s first case. In 2014, he left the NYPD’s upper echelons after being named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a police corruption trial.
The Caban
Now let’s move on to the Caban brothers – Edward and James – whose father, Juan, was also one of Eric Adams’ friends when both were in NYPD uniforms.
Until September 12, Edward was the chief of the NYPD. Before making him the first New Yorker of Puerto Rican origin to hold this position, in July 2023, Eric Adams had made him climb several rungs in front of more experienced and qualified colleagues.
James, meanwhile, is a former NYPD sergeant. Edward’s identical twin, he was fired from the NYPD in 2001 after being convicted in a case related to the kidnapping of a taxi driver.
On September 4, FBI agents also raided the Caban brothers’ residences and seized their phones and other electronic devices.
New York bar and restaurant owners later accused Caban, through media reports, of offering to settle their problems with the NYPD for $2,500.
After resisting calls to resign for a week, Caban finally relented. In accepting his resignation, Adams cited the series of searches and seizures that have taken place against members of his administration.
“I was as surprised as you were to learn of these investigations and I take them very seriously,” he said at a news conference.
The mayor was among those who called for his police chief to resign. But he did not make the same demand for the other members of his administration targeted by the FBI, none of whom have been charged.
Friends
That group also includes Timothy Pearson, one of Adams’ closest friends and most important advisers. Even before the FBI seized his phone on that eventful day of September 4, the former NYPD detective was already accused of systemic sexual harassment and retaliation in four lawsuits filed this year.
The lawsuits also raised serious questions about his interest in city contracts.
“Do you know how these contracts work?” he told a colleague, according to one of the lawsuits. “People are doing very well on these contracts. I have to get mine. Where are my crumbs?”
On September 14, another blow fell on Eric Adams’ head. Liza Zornberg, his chief legal adviser, abruptly announced her resignation, saying she could no longer “practice [ses] functions efficiently”.
Media outlets attributed M’s decision tome Zornberg’s refusal to follow Eric Adams’ recommendation to fire Timothy Pearson and Phil Banks, which the mayor has denied. In a recent statement, he defended the hiring of his friends.
“If you want to continue to say that Eric only hires his friends, I would say: no. I hired competent people who inherited a city that needed real leadership and who brought real leadership,” he said.
Eric Adams, it should be remembered, was himself targeted by the FBI last year. Agents seized phones and an iPad tablet from his company vehicle as part of an investigation into the financing of his 2021 election campaign.
This investigation, like the others, has yet to produce any charges. But at least five Democratic lawmakers have seen and heard enough.
“Eric Adams is unfit to govern. New York deserves better. It’s time for him to resign,” Queens City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán (no relation to the Caban brothers) wrote on X.
