Top Aide to New York City Mayor Resigns Amid Federal Corruption Probe

One in every of New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams’s high aides tendered his resignation on Monday, lower than per week after the Democrat mayor was indicted on 5 federal corruption prices.

His lawyer, Hugh Mo, stated Pearson lately had his cellphone and paperwork seized from his Lengthy Island residence. Investigators additionally seized the cellphones of three different high mayoral deputies in early September.

Pearson has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing by prosecutors or charged with a criminal offense.

In his resignation letter, Pearson said that he performed a crucial position in dealing with town’s safety points and managing migrant companies, which included overseeing metropolis contracts for migrant shelters.

His resignation letter made no point out of the continued probe, solely stating that he had determined to resign as a result of he needed “to give attention to household, self-care, and new endeavors.”

Adams later issued a press release praising Pearson for his 30 years of labor in the private and non-private sectors, saying, “We recognize Tim’s a long time of service to this metropolis and want him properly.”

The resignation comes two weeks after Adams’s chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, abruptly resigned on Sept. 14, saying that she may “now not successfully serve” in her position. Zornberg was not among the many officers whose telephones have been seized by federal investigators.

The indictment towards Adams—the primary for a sitting New York Metropolis mayor in trendy instances—included electronic mail and textual content messages suggesting that Adams tried to cowl his tracks. In a single, Adams allegedly tried to manufacture a paper path to assert that he reimbursed an aide for airplane tickets, despite the fact that there was no preliminary fee to reimburse.

Adams can also be accused of accepting bribes and unlawful “straw marketing campaign” donations from Turkish officers and businesspeople for years, relationship again to his time as Brooklyn borough president and persevering with via his 2021 mayoral race.

State Sen. John Liu stated that whereas he acknowledged that Adams is entitled to due course of, town wants a mayor “who is ready to dedicate full time and vitality to placing town heading in the right direction.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Sept. 26 that Adams ought to step down “for the nice of town.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat who has the ability to take away Adams from workplace, informed reporters on Monday that she had spoken to the mayor and determined to provide him an opportunity to regain the boldness “that I feel is wavering proper now.”

Invoice Pan and the Related Press contributed to this report.