NEW YORK — The New York City mayor’s former chief adviser, her son, and two real estate investors were indicted on Thursday on bribery and conspiracy charges, a case that comes as the mayor himself fights a separate corruption case and a series of criminal investigations roils City Hall.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who until recently was one of the most powerful people in city government, was brought into a Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs. She, her son Glenn D. Martin II — a DJ who once performed at City Hall — and real estate investors Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi pleaded not guilty as prosecutors accused the four of engaging in a blatant pay-to-play scheme.
“This was an unfettered, on-call, quid pro quo arrangement” in which Lewis-Martin and her son raked in over $100,000 and got other help in exchange for her speeding approvals for construction projects, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference.
He said the scheme went on during much of Lewis-Martin’s nearly three-year tenure as Mayor Eric Adams’s chief adviser — a post she left only last weekend.
Lewis-Martin's lawyer said outside court that she simply helped a constituent cut through the Big Apple's thick red tape.
“What she was doing here was just moving things along," said the attorney, Arthur Aidala. He said the $100,000 was for a legitimate business deal involving Lewis-Martin's son but didn't provide details.
But prosecutors said in a court document that she “abused her position and sold her influence to enrich herself and her family.”
Prosecutors wrote that the developers repeatedly asked Lewis-Martin for help getting approvals for such projects as a rooftop bar and a hotel, and she in turn pressed officials in the city's Department of Buildings to take action, which they did.
“Again and again, she delivered for them," said Bragg.
In return, the developers paid $100,000 to Lewis-Martin's son, who put the money in an account he shared with her, and used some of it to buy a $113,000 Porsche last year, prosecutors said in the court document.
They said the son also got help from the businessmen with some of his own ventures, including a clothing line and an attempt to secure a Chick-fil-A franchise.
Martin II, who performs under the stage name DJ Suave Luciano, doesn’t appear to have previous experience running a food-service business, prosecutors said. According to the indictment, Martin II asked Vaid, who also goes by the nickname Pinky, by phone for help handling application “questions about previous business history and stuff.” Vaid responded that he would “be with you to take care of those.”
It's unclear whether the franchise ever came through. A message seeking comment was sent to Chick-fil-A.
Dwivedi, a hotelier with a background in finance, is listed online as one of the owners of a boutique hotel in swanky East Hampton, New York.
Lewis-Martin tried to cover her tracks by communicating with Vaid through Signal, an encrypted messaging app, beginning in December 2022, prosecutors wrote.
At one point in January 2023, he texted her, “I need this favor. This is still stuck at DOB. . . . Please get this through," according to the court document.
“Please only use Signal for asks,” she responded, adding “Next time just text me ‘trying to reach you(’) and I will Look for it.”
The same day, Lewis-Martin forwarded Vaid’s requests to the acting buildings commissioner, according to the court document. It said a buildings department employee met with Vaid the next day.
Bragg also is prosecuting a separate bribery conspiracy case against former buildings commissioner, Eric Ulrich, who has pleaded not guilty. But no buildings department employees or officials have been charged in the alleged scheme involving Lewis-Martin. Ulrich’s successor was the one who received her messages, and it’s unclear whether anyone at the agency had any inkling of the alleged pay-to-play behind the scenes.
Lewis-Martin, 63, has been one of the mayor’s closest confidantes, serving in senior roles as Adams ascended the ranks of government in New York over nearly two decades. She resigned Sunday.
She has said she's being “falsely accused” and that she had “not made any arrangements in advance to take any gifts or money, or to have any gifts or money given to a family member or friend in order for me to do my job.”
Prosecutors seized her phone and searched her home in September, after meeting her at an airport as she got off a flight from Japan.
In addition to the charges outlined Thursday, prosecutors said in court that Lewis-Martin is the subject of several ongoing investigations.
Bragg noted that the case against Lewis-Martin doesn’t allege that Adams did anything criminal. He said the mayor isn’t a target of state prosecutors’ investigation.
Federal prosecutors charged Adams in September with accepting luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence.
The mayor, a Democrat like Bragg, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery. Adams’s federal trial is scheduled for April.
His administration has been enveloped by a series of searches and seizures from investigators, leading to the resignations of top officials including his police commissioner, schools chancellor, multiple deputy mayors and his director of Asian affairs.