Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos Getty Images
These days, it’s getting hard to keep track of all the New York City officials who have had their phones seized by the FBI or generally inspired some attention from prosecutors. So we’ve made this handy who’s-who guide to the key people caught up in the investigations so far, including a number of Mayor Eric Adams’s top aides and allies. Here’s each investigation (that we know of) and the officials who have reportedly been scrutinized as part of those probes.
The foreign-influence probe
Three agencies — the Southern District of New York, the FBI, and the New York City Department of Investigation — are probing whether Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign worked with people linked to the Turkish government to direct illegal foreign donations toward his campaign. They’re also said to be looking into whether Adams received free upgrades on flights with Turkish Airlines. Last November, federal agents executed search warrants on the homes of two of Adams’s aides: his chief fundraiser and a former Turkish Airlines official. They later seized the mayor’s digital devices. More recently, federal prosecutors have reportedly requested information about Adams’s interactions with China, Israel, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan — though it’s not clear why.
Eric Adams
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Adams was elected in 2021, besting several challengers in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the general election. Adams had previously served as Brooklyn borough president and a state senator for the borough. Before entering politics, Adams was a member of the transit police and the NYPD, later retiring as a captain.
Shortly after federal investigators conducted raids on two of his aides in November of last year, Adams himself was stopped by the FBI and asked to turn over his electronic devices, which were later returned. The mayor has repeatedly maintained that he has done nothing wrong and said he will continue to cooperate with the investigations. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing thus far.
Adams recently lost Lisa Zornberg, City Hall’s chief counsel, who abruptly stepped down in the aftermath of the federal government’s searches. Reporting suggests that Zornberg exited the administration after Adams rejected her advice to fire the aides currently being eyed by investigators.
Rana Abbasova
Abbasova is the director of protocol for the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, though she has been on leave since last November, when federal agents raided her Fort Lee, New Jersey, home. At City Hall, she organized meetings and events with foreign dignitaries and before that acted as a liaison between Adams and the city’s Turkish community when he was Brooklyn borough president. Abbasova has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is reportedly cooperating with federal investigators.
Brianna Suggs
Suggs is the former chief fundraiser for Mayor Adams. Federal agents raided her home in November 2023 and seized her electronic devices. She was reassigned from her fundraising role shortly afterward and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. In July, Adams confirmed that Suggs was still working on his 2025 reelection campaign even though filings to the Campaign Finance Board did not include payments made to her.
“The amount of paperwork that the CFB requires for a campaign to do is unbelievable. The amount of skill that you need, the amount of training, the amount of documentation. I must have a team that can do that. She’s knowledgeable on it, and I’m happy that she’s able to do that administrative part of the campaign for the administration,” Adams told reporters.
The NYPD nightlife-enforcement probe
The Southern District of New York and the IRS Criminal Investigation division are reportedly looking into whether a former NYPD commissioner’s twin brother, James Caban, unlawfully wielded his connections to the department for his own gain. In particular, authorities are said to be investigating whether Caban acted as a fixer who made venues’ and restaurants’ police issues go away in exchange for money, per reports.
Edward Caban
Photo: Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Getty Images
Edward Caban began his policing career in 1991 patrolling the South Bronx and rose through the ranks, becoming first deputy commissioner in 2022. In 2023, Adams selected Caban to be his next NYPD commissioner, the first Latino to serve in that role. Caban succeeded Keechant Sewell, the first woman to lead the NYPD, who abruptly stepped down from her post after a little more than a year on the job.
On September 4, federal agents seized the devices of the commissioner; his twin brother, James; his chief of staff, Raul Pintos; and some NYPD precinct commanders. Caban resigned on September 12 following widespread pressure for him to step down. According to his lawyers, prosecutors have told Caban he is not a target of their investigation.
James Caban
James Caban is the twin brother of Edward Caban. He owns a nightclub-security business, and investigators are reportedly looking into whether he profited off his ties to the department and was able to arrange special treatment from police for his clients. Earlier this month, a bar owner alleged that a City Hall staffer connected him to James, who requested money in exchange for assisting with the bar’s issues around noise complaints. That staffer, Ray Martin, was fired after the accusation went public. James’s devices were also seized by federal agents on September 4. Thus far, he has not been charged by prosecutors.
In 2001, James was ousted from the NYPD after he wrongfully detained a cabdriver and threatened to impound his vehicle, accusing the driver of stealing money from his wife’s purse. Caban was also once sentenced to 30 days in jail after he failed to make mandated repairs to an apartment building he owned in the Bronx.
The City Hall bribery probe
Federal prosecutors are said to be looking into a potential bribery scheme involving the brother of two top City Hall employees. Investigators are reportedly scrutinizing Terence Banks’s consulting firm and its clients. Banks is the brother of deputy mayor Phil Banks and schools chancellor David Banks.
Terence Banks
Terence Banks is a former supervisor for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He later started a consulting firm called the Pearl Alliance, which the Daily News reports was formed while Banks was still at the MTA. Per the outlet, neither Banks nor the firm’s employees were registered as lobbyists despite having clients who did business with city government. The firm’s website has been wiped following the federal searches. Banks has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.
Phil Banks
Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press/Alamy Stock Photo
Philip Banks III was appointed deputy mayor for public safety by Adams in 2022. In early September, federal agents seized his phone. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Banks has a long history in law enforcement. He joined the NYPD in 1986 and was later appointed to chief of department, the highest-ranking uniformed position, in 2013. But just after news broke that Banks was to be named first deputy commissioner in 2014, he abruptly quit the force. Not long after, he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a police-corruption investigation that led to several convictions, including that of former Corrections union head Norman Seabrook. Despite being named in that scheme, Banks maintained his innocence.
David Banks
Alamy Stock Photo
Adams selected David Banks, the brother of Terence and Phil, to be chancellor of the city’s public-school system in early 2022. Banks also had his devices seized by federal agents in early September but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. A longtime educator, he founded the Eagle Academy for Young Men, a group of public schools located in the city’s five boroughs and New Jersey that serves male students of color. Banks is engaged to Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor.
On September 24, PIX11 reported Banks would be stepping down from his post by year’s end, making him the second person to exit the administration after being involved in the federal searches. His exit comes just weeks after the start of the 2024-2025 school year for the city’s public school system.
Sheena Wright
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Wright became the deputy mayor for strategic operations 2021 and was selected by Adams to become first deputy mayor the following year. Previously, Wright was the president and CEO of United Way of New York City, the first woman to hold that position. She is engaged to David Banks, the schools chancellor. Wright also had her devices seized after agents conducted a search of her and Banks’s shared home. She has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Other probes
Federal and city investigators are scrutinizing a handful of city officials over additional matters.
Tim Pearson
Photo: Ken Murray/TNS/Getty Images
As part of its searches in early September, the federal government seized electronic devices from Pearson, a top aide in City Hall. A retired NYPD inspector who has known Adams for decades, Pearson currently draws one of the largest salaries in City Hall under the title of senior adviser for public safety and COVID recovery. He faces multiple lawsuits from former subordinates who allege sexual harassment and instances of retaliation. He has been responsible for handing out city contracts related to migrant shelters and is under investigation by the city following an altercation with security staff at one of them. He has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.
Molly Schaeffer
Schaeffer is the director of the city’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations and works alongside Pearson. She was subpoenaed on September 20 by federal prosecutors, who are reportedly seeking her testimony. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Winnie Greco
Photo: Violet Mendelsund/New York Mayoral Photography Office/AP Photo
Since 2022, Greco has worked as City Hall’s director of Asian affairs and serves as a special adviser to Adams. In March, the FBI conducted a search of two Bronx residences owned by Greco, reportedly removing devices and files. Agents also conducted a raid on the New World Mall in Flushing, the site of several fundraisers she organized on Adams’s behalf. Greco briefly took paid sick leave following the raid on her properties but later returned to work for the administration. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
