New York
Investigation into bribery is targeting company led by sibling of prominent New York City authorities
Terence Banks opened a consulting firm and soon found work with companies that do business with the city agencies overseen by his older brothers.
Updated 2024-Oct-06 17:00
New York’s City Hall, illuminated at night.
During the 2021 mayoral election Mr. Banks collected over $70 000 in donations for Mr. The Adams campaign paid Mr.Banks appeared in an Adams campaign video in 2021 praising Mr. Adams election win Mr. Banks was selected for his transition committee.
Banks started working at Nexus a luxurious private club near his brothers offices. Jay Root provided additional reporting.
Research was contributed by Susan C. The first deputy mayor Ms. Wright who shares a home with David Banks in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan has been in charge of overseeing that initiative and had her phone confiscated.
Wright stated in a press release that the executive order allows agency leadership to allocate resources to companies.
Prior to working as a government relations consultant Mr. Banks s brother Terence was employed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and retired in April 2023 as a train service supervisor in a union represented role according to agency spokesman Tim Minton.
Federal agents are investigating a possible bribery scheme involving New York City contracts and a consulting firm run by the brother of two top officials in the administration of Mayor Eric Adams two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Prosecutors last week seized the phones of the two officials the schools chancellor and the deputy mayor for public safety and the consultant because they believed the devices might contain evidence of bribery and other crimes the people said.
Those other crimes the people said were fraud and violations of the Travel Act a federal offense that can encompass a wide range of conduct including extortion and other violations of state law and is frequently charged in corruption cases.
The inquiry appeared to be in its early stages and the outlines of the suspected bribery scheme and whom it may have involved were not immediately clear.
But it appeared to center on the consulting firm and its clients. The investigation was separate from a federal corruption inquiry involving the New York police commissioner and his brother whose phones were also seized prompting the administration to seek the commissioner’s resignation.
He remained in office as of Tuesday night. Both investigations spilled into public view after federal agents on Wednesday took the phones of several officials including the schools chancellor David Banks the deputy mayor for public safety Philip B.Banks III and their younger brother the consultant Terence Banks. The agents also seized the phone of Timothy Pearson a retired police inspector who is one of the mayor’s closest confidants and who serves as a senior adviser.
His responsibilities include helping to oversee security contracts at migrant shelters. The actions were part of a burst of investigative activity on Wednesday that also saw investigators take the phone of the schools chancellor’s partner the first deputy mayor Sheena Wright.
An electronic device was also seized from a person connected to at least one of nine companies that appeared to be clients of Terence Banks’s consulting firm according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Banks would have been responsible for addressing train malfunctions and identifying their root causes.
Banks also had strong relationships. During his weekly media availability on Tuesday the mayor mentioned that his father a lieutenant worked alongside the mayor in the Police Department and served as a mentor to him.
Adams also appointed Mr. Banks s older brothers to prominent roles in his administration maintaining a relationship with Mr.
