New York City’s political scene was rocked this week by a cascade of corruption allegations and indictments that have left Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign scrambling to contain the fallout ahead of the November 2025 election. The unsealing of four bribery indictments against two of Adams’ closest confidantes, Ingrid Lewis-Martin and Jesse Hamilton, has not only deepened concerns about ethics in City Hall but also reignited debate about the mayor’s leadership and the city’s political future. Add to the mix a bizarre incident involving a potato chip bag full of cash, and it’s no wonder the city’s political class is abuzz.
On August 21, 2025, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office unsealed indictments charging Lewis-Martin, Hamilton, Lewis-Martin’s son Glenn Martin II, and three businesspeople with years-long bribery schemes. According to the New York Daily News, Lewis-Martin—Adams’ former chief adviser—allegedly wielded her influence from March 2022 through at least November 2024 to pressure city agencies like the FDNY and Department of Buildings to secure favors for her benefactors. The alleged bribes, prosecutors say, included at least $75,000 in cash and other perks, such as a guest appearance on Hulu’s “Godfather of Harlem,” which was reportedly arranged after Lewis-Martin helped derail a bike lane project in northern Brooklyn that TV production moguls Tony and Gina Argento opposed.
All six defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Hamilton, who resigned from his senior administration post just hours after being charged, is accused—alongside Martin II—of helping advance Lewis-Martin’s pressure campaign. Queens businessman Tian Ji Li and the Argentos are alleged to have been the primary bribers, showering the officials with gifts in exchange for city contracts and fast-tracked permits.
This is not Lewis-Martin’s first brush with scandal. In December 2024, she and her son were indicted on separate corruption charges for allegedly accepting $100,000 in bribes to expedite building permits for real estate investors. She resigned as Adams’ chief adviser shortly before those charges became public, a move that, according to The City, dealt a significant blow to an administration already reeling from a string of high-profile resignations—among them the schools chancellor, police commissioner, and two deputy mayors—amid ongoing federal probes.
Mayor Adams, in his first public remarks following the new indictments, offered a robust defense of both Lewis-Martin and Hamilton. Speaking at City Hall, he stated, “We have not always gotten it right, but we have never stopped being dedicated to the people of this city.” He also described the Argentos, major donors to his campaign, as “great New Yorkers” and “beautiful people” who “really care about the city of New York.” Still, Adams acknowledged that “mistakes” had occurred during his administration’s tenure.
The mayor’s critics, however, were quick to seize on the latest developments. Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, currently leading the polls, invoked the city’s infamous history of political corruption, declaring at a Union Square rally, “Mark Twain said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes, and here we are, just a stone’s throw away from Tammany Hall, and we see that rhyme taking place with Eric Adams becoming a living, breathing testament to a continued legacy of corruption in this city’s politics.”
Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, was equally unsparing: “I don’t believe that Mayor Adams can credibly ask New Yorkers to give him four more years,” he said. “I don’t think he has performed well, and I think that the series of corruption cases against the mayor are damning. And then on top of that was the deal he made with President Trump, where he saved his own hide by turning his back on New Yorkers. And to me, that is inexcusable.”
Adams’ campaign is already struggling. Polls consistently place him in third or fourth place behind Mamdani and Cuomo, with many observers linking his poor standing to a separate federal indictment from 2024. That case accused Adams of accepting illegal campaign contributions and favors from a Turkish official, including travel discounts, in return for helping Turkey open a diplomatic building without proper fire inspections. The case was ultimately dismissed in April 2025 after the Justice Department, under President Trump, argued that it interfered with Adams’ ability to assist with federal immigration enforcement—a controversial decision that some say has made Adams appear beholden to Trump.
Compounding the mayor’s woes, several key aides have resigned in the wake of federal probes, and lawsuits from former NYPD officials—including Adams’ own former interim police commissioner Tom Donlon—allege that the mayor has allowed corruption to take root within the police department. According to The City, these scandals have shaken confidence among some of Adams’ business donors, who are now reportedly considering shifting their support to Cuomo.
One business executive, speaking anonymously to the New York Daily News, summed up the mood: “We are used to the corruption and the scandals, it’s part of the package, but what I’m hearing now is concern about how bad the campaign is being run, and the potato chip thing isn’t helping.”
That “potato chip thing” refers to a bizarre episode on August 20, 2025, when Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams adviser who resigned last fall while under FBI scrutiny, handed The City reporter Katie Honan a potato chip bag filled with a red envelope containing a $100 bill and several $20 bills after a campaign event. Honan initially thought she was being offered a snack and tried to decline, but Greco insisted. Only later did Honan discover the cash. When she called Greco to return it, Greco first suggested they meet to exchange it, then stopped responding altogether. Greco later called The City to plead that they not publish a story, saying, “I try to be a good person.”
Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill, told the Associated Press that the gesture was being “blown out of proportion,” explaining, “In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. And that’s all that was done here. Winnie’s intention was born purely out of kindness.” Still, Adams’ reelection campaign immediately suspended Greco from unpaid volunteer work and insisted the mayor had no knowledge of the incident.
Greco, a prolific fundraiser for Adams and his former director of Asian affairs, has not been charged with a crime, though federal agents searched two of her properties earlier this year. Her conduct has been the subject of multiple investigative reports, including allegations that she promised a campaign volunteer a city job in exchange for help renovating her home.
Political strategists across the spectrum agree that the steady drumbeat of scandals is taking a toll. Basil Smikle, a former executive director of New York’s Democratic Party, told the Daily News that “if you were on the fence, I think you’re looking elsewhere.” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran strategist working on both pro-Adams and anti-Mamdani super PACs, acknowledged the new indictments could hurt Adams’ standing with donors but doubted many would flock to Cuomo, noting, “They’re both wounded.”
With the November election looming and Adams’ support eroding among both voters and donors, the latest round of corruption allegations has left the mayor fighting an uphill battle—not just for his political future, but for the trust of the city he leads.
