Aug. 22 (UPI) — A former chief adviser to New York Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in what the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office describes as “a wide-ranging series of bribery conspiracies.”
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, announced Thursday four separate indictments against Ingrid Lewis-Martin, charging her with four fourth-degree conspiracy counts and four second-degree counts of receiving bribes for perpetrating schemes that leveraged her former position in Adams’ office.
“We allege that Ingrid Lewis-Martin engaged in classic bribery conspiracies that had a deep and wide-ranging impact on city government,” Bragg said in a statement.
“Hardworking city employees were undermined, businesses and developers who followed the law were pushed aside and the public was victimized by corruption at the highest levels of government.”
The charges add to an indictment filed against her in December over allegedly receiving more than $100,000 from real estate advisers in exchange for influencing the Department of Buildings in their favor.
Like the December indictment, two of the four unveiled Thursday also charge her adult son, Glenn Martin II.
Prosecutors alleged in one of the indictments that of the $75,000 in bribes Lewis-Martin was paid, $50,000 was received by her son in cash from a diverted New York City contract as well as benefits. She also allegedly received the benefit of an appearance on a TV show.
That indictment alleges the mother-son pair conspired to steer contracts for asylum seeker shelter sites to developer Tian Ji Li’s preferred property owners, with Li allegedly receiving 10% of each contract.
One such contract involving a New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation allegedly netted Li $1.2 million.
The indictment also accuses Lewis-Martin of fast-tracking city approvals for V Show, a karaoke bar being developed by Li.
The second indictment alleges Lewis-Martin conspired to have the city withdraw its approval for a Brooklyn street redesign involving protected bike lanes on behalf of the owners of Broadway Stages. In exchange, Lewis-Martin allegedly received $2,500 and $10,000 in catering services.
Lewis-Martin, Martin II and Jessie Hamilton, deputy commissioner for Real Estate Services, were charged in the third indictment for fast-tracking development projects and steering city contracts in exchange for home renovations.
The final indictment only charges Lewis-Martin. That scheme allegedly saw her obtain approval for a residential renovation project in exchange for thousands of dollars in catering services.
“As charged, Ingrid Lewis-Martin influenced city agency decision making in a wide range of areas, from construction to street design, to serve the interests of co-defendants who paid her bribes,” Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber of the Department of Investigation said in a statement.
Strauber said she has notified relevant agencies and requested their review of permits and design determinations mentioned in the indictments.
Lewis-Martin was initially arrested and charged amid upheaval in Adams’ office last year, as the mayor was under federal investigation that led to him being charged with conspiracy in September.
The charges, however, were dismissed in April after the Justice Department moved to drop the case.