Within the days earlier than President Trump’s administration moved to drop Mayor Adams’ corruption indictment, federal authorities raided the upstate New York dwelling of Dwayne Montgomery, a former NYPD inspector who was pleasant with Adams, as a part of an increasing investigation into alleged crimes linked to Adams and his campaigns, based on bombshell new information launched late Friday.
The Jan. 23 raid on the Middletown dwelling was a part of a flurry of beforehand unknown legislation enforcement actions detailed in a trove of 1,785 of pages of search warrants and different supplies from the years-long federal corruption investigation into Adams.
The supplies present a glimpse into what prosecutors could have laid out had the case gone to trial. Along with the revelation about Montgomery and the feds suspicion about one other straw donor scheme, the paperwork reveal that FBI brokers accused Adams of mendacity about his private cellular phone.
After being intercepted by the FBI close to Washington Sq. Park in a highly-publicized episode, Adams stated by means of his lawyer, that he didn’t have that telephone on his individual and that he had forgotten the password — since he had modified the code the night time earlier than — and left it at Metropolis Corridor that day. He informed his scheduler to assist him carry the telephone to the Apple Retailer to get entry again however he in the end didn’t achieve this, Adams stated by means of his lawyer.
However the telephone’s location monitoring confirmed that the telephone was not stationary at Metropolis Corridor however really traveled from Metropolis Corridor, previous Washington Sq. Park, after which north to twenty ninth Avenue earlier than it was both put in airplane mode or turned off, the paperwork say.
“I respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that Adams made false statements about the location of the Adams Personal Cellphone through his attorney, thus committing certain of the Subject Offenses…” an agent wrote in March 2024.
The agent added that that violation constitutes “evidence of consciousness of guilt.”
The case towards Adams principally revolved round allegations that he took unlawful marketing campaign money and bribes from Turkish authorities operatives in change for political favors. Adams has consitently denied these costs.
“Today’s unsealing of documents affirms what we have long known—Mayor Adams did nothing wrong. These documents also show that federal authorities made false, reckless accusations with absolutely no evidence in a relentless, shameless assault on the mayor,” Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for the mayor’s reelection marketing campaign, stated in a press release.
The brand new paperwork, which have been unsealed Friday afternoon at Manhattan Federal Court docket Choose Dale Ho’s order, reveal the feds have been increasing their investigation within the days earlier than Trump’s Division of Justice intervened and ordered prosecutors on Feb. 10 to dismiss the case.
Trump’s DOJ officers secured the dismissal as a result of they stated the indictment inhibited Adams from serving to within the president’s “mass deportation” agenda.
That transfer ignited a pointy backlash and set off waves off resignations contained in the Southern District of New York — together with that of former U.S. Lawyer Danielle Sassoon, who wrote in her resignation letter that Adams had entered right into a corrupt quid professional quo. Prosecutors has indicated in courtroom and in filings that that they had meant to pursue additional costs for the mayor earlier than the DOJ pulled the plug on the case.
Montgomery, a retired NYPD inspector who labored with Adams within the Police Division, pleaded responsible final 12 months to state costs alleging he orchestrated a straw donor scheme wherein he financially boosted the mayor’s 2021 marketing campaign by giving cash to it within the names of others, unlocking illicit public matching funds. These costs got here out of an investigation carried out by the Manhattan district legal professional’s workplace that didn’t implicate the mayor in any wrongdoing.
The brand new search warrant information unsealed Friday reveal the feds suspected Montgomery had additionally engaged in a separate, however related straw donor scheme involving Adams’ 2025 reelection marketing campaign. Montgomery’s title is redacted within the information, however details about the circumstances of his responsible plea spelled out within the federal paperwork, together with the date and costs and his dwelling tackle, level to him.
The feds seized two telephones from his dwelling. He was by no means charged with any wrongdoing as a part of the federal probe nor have been extra costs introduced towards Adams.
The feds wrote within the newly-unsealed information that they had purpose to consider Montgomery was implicated within the 2025 scheme as he and Adams had continued to be in contact with one another about marketing campaign fundraising after Adams grew to become mayor in January 2022.
“Because [Montgomery] remained in contact with Adams into 2023, there is probable cause to believe that evidence of criminal activity by [Montgomery] relating to the 2025 campaign also exists,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit in search of to drag information from Montgomery’s telephones confiscated throughout the search of his dwelling.
Different information reveal the feds have been in a position to get their arms on texts between Montgomery and Adams wherein they referred to one another as “brother” and “Boss man.”
In a single change from January 2022, Montgomery requested Adams to be appointed a deputy mayor. “Deputy mayors are in charge of several agencies. Not a small task,” Adams texted again, based on the brand new information.
Montgomery was in the end by no means made a deputy mayor.
An legal professional for Montgomery didn’t return a request for remark Friday. Kayla Mamelak, Adams’ spokeswoman at Metropolis Corridor, referred remark to the mayor’s felony legal professional, Alex Spiro.
“This case – the first of its kind airline upgrade ‘corruption’ case – should never have been brought in the first place and is now over,” Spiro stated in a press release.
The brand new information reveal different beforehand unknown legislation enforcement actions.
A decide signed off on a warrant to go looking the Fort Lee, N.J. apartment that Adams shares together with his longtime associate, former Division of Training official Tracey Collins. Whereas the warrant didn’t straight title Collins, it described her job and stated that she was Adams’ associate. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In addition they embody a December 2024 raid on the Woodside, Queens dwelling of an govt of a well being care firm who allegedly reimbursed workers to donate cash to Adams’ campaigns, an instance of unlawful straw contributions, an affidavit from an FBI agent states. The raid on the unidentified well being care govt’s dwelling was approved by a decide after an individual phoned in a tip to the FBI, based on the affidavit.
The tipster alleged being “a victim” and being “forced to make straw donations myself along with many others” to Adams’ campaigns “along with campaigns for other politicians,” based on an affidavit from an FBI agent.
The trove of paperwork got here per week later than initially anticipated, with the feds asking for an additional week for extra time to assemble every thing collectively.
Initially Revealed: Could 9, 2025 at 10:59 PM EDT
