New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to dig in and "reign" rather than resign in the face of federal fraud and bribery charges filed against him in September. And he may well do so. But he's hemorrhaging aides and allies along the way. 

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced charges against another prominent New York official, this time, Adams' former aide, Mohamed Bahi. 

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destroying evidence in a federal investigation that led to Mayor Eric Adams’ bribery indictment. The arrest came amid yet more high-profile exits from Adams’ administration.

Federal prosecutors allege that Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday as a community affairs liaison, told a businessman and campaign donors to lie to the FBI in June, and deleted the encrypted messaging app Signal from his cell phone as FBI agents arrived to search his home in July. Bahi had used the app to communicate with Adams, prosecutors said.

Bahi, 40, of Staten Island, is the first person other than Adams to be charged in the investigation. More than a half-dozen of the mayor’s top aides have quit amid a rash of searches and subpoenas, and as Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to pressure Adams to shake up his administration and bring stability to city government.

As noted, Bahi is just one of multiple mayoral staffers and associates to step down and/or come under scrutiny for potential criminal misdeeds. 

In the latest high-level departure, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright submitted her resignation Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel changes.

...

Wright’s exit comes days after resignation announcements from her husband, the city’s schools chancellor David Banks, and her brother-in-law Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety. The city’s police commissioner, Edward Caban, and a senior mayoral advisor, Timothy Pearson, have also stepped down.

What the Heck Is Going on in New York? Feds Seize Materials
From Home of Interim Police Commissioner

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Says He Will 'Reign,' Not Resign As Federal Indictment Looms

In announcing the charges against Bahi, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said:

“As alleged, Mohamed Bahi obstructed a federal criminal investigation by instructing witnesses to lie and then destroying evidence.  The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee.  Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering.”

Per the complaint, Bahi is accused of the following:

From approximately 2022 through October 2024, BAHI has worked in the New York City mayoral administration of a certain public official (“Official-1”).  Specifically, BAHI served as a Senior Liaison in the Community Affairs Unit of that mayoral administration. 

In or about December 2020, BAHI was involved in organizing a fundraiser for Official-1’s campaign to be New York City Mayor in connection with an election to be held in 2021 (the “2021 Official-1 Campaign”).  The fundraiser was held at the Brooklyn offices of a construction company (the “Construction Company”).  At this event, which was attended by BAHI and Official-1, among others, four employees of the Construction Company (the “Donors”) made contributions in their own names to the 2021 Official-1 Campaign, but those contributions were in fact funded by the Construction Company’s chief executive officer (the “Businessman”).  Such contributions—that is, contributions made in the name of one donor but in fact funded by a different person—are commonly referred to as straw contributions.  The knowing solicitation and acceptance of straw contributions can violate federal law when, for example, a political campaign makes false statements about straw contributions to a public entity to fraudulently obtain public matching funds based on the contributions, or when the straw contributions are used to smuggle foreign money into a campaign.

Since in or about 2021, the FBI and DOI have been investigating, among other things, the receipt of straw contributions by the 2021 Official-1 Campaign (the “Federal Investigation”).  In or about 2024, BAHI took steps to obstruct the Federal Investigation by tampering with multiple witnesses and destroying evidence. 

Additionally, the complaint alleges that Bahi encouraged the "businessman" and donors to lie to federal investigators and that Bahi deleted the Signal app from his phone — which he had used to communicate with Adams — when federal investigators arrived at his home with a search warrant for his cellphone. 

Bahi is charged with one count of witness tampering and one count of destruction of records, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.