Top adviser to NYC Mayor Adams resigns ahead of possible indictment

LAUREN TAYLOR: The longtime top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced her immediate retirement over the weekend. This coming as The New York Times reports Manhattan prosecutors presented evidence about her alleged corruption to a grand jury.

Prosecutors could seek an indictment as soon as this week.

Ingrid Lewis-Martin has been an adviser to Adams since he served as state senator before becoming mayor of New York.

Lewis-Martin has been in the crosshairs of both the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the separate federal investigation into corruption allegations in the Adams administration.

The Manhattan DA’s inquiry is looking at possible corruption in how Lewis-Martin handled the city’s leases of commercial properties. The Times report says prosecutors are also looking at possible bribery that could implicate Lewis-Martin’s son.

Mayor Adams faces federal corruption charges, with his trial currently scheduled for April. But Lewis-Martin is just the latest Adams administration official to leave their role early.

The last two NYPD chiefs – Edward Caban and Thomas Donlon – both resigned or stepped aside after being probed in the investigations.

And resignations just in the last few months include two Deputy Mayors and a senior adviser. All three of them faced federal raids.

But one top Adams adviser is still staying.

Jesse Hamilton, the mayor’s top real estate adviser, is still serving in his role. Hamilton faces accusations of taking a city lease away from its original landlord and giving it to a billionaire donor to Adams’s campaign.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.

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