NEW YORK — FBI agents this week searched the homes of at least three top aides to the New York mayor Eric Adamsaccording to an insider.
FBI agents seized electronic devices Wednesday from the homes of Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety, and Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Agents also searched the home of Timothy Pearson, a former senior New York Police Department official who now advises the mayor on public safety, the person said.
The NYPD also said in a statement that it was aware of an investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan “involving members of the agency.”
“The department is fully cooperating with the investigation,” the statement said, noting that further investigation is pending by prosecutors.
They declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the FBI and for Adams, a first-term Democrat.
Benjamin Brafman, attorney for Philip Banks, confirmed that his client’s home was searched early Wednesday morning. Brafman declined to comment further.
The searches marked the latest sign of legal trouble in Adams’ administration. The retired New York City police captain took office as mayor in 2022 after serving as Brooklyn borough president and as a state senator.
Last November, federal agents the mayor’s phones and iPad were seized when he left an event in Manhattan and entered the house of one of his best fundraisersHe, his campaign arm and City Hall received subpoenas from federal prosecutors in the summer.
Adams denies any wrongdoing and says he and his team are cooperating with the investigation.
Pearson is currently facing multiple lawsuits accusing him accusing him of sexually harassing female employeesand he is being investigated separately for his role in a brawl at a shelter for homeless migrants. An attorney representing Pearson in the harassment suit did not immediately respond to a phone call.
Federal prosecutors previously named Banks an “unindicted accomplice” in an investigation into a police bribery scheme during the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio. Banks abruptly retired in 2014 but returned to city government after Adams took office in 2022.
Wright, the first vice mayor, lives with her partner, David Banks, the city’s schools chancellor and brother of Philip Banks. It was not immediately clear whether investigators were also looking for documents related to David Banks.
A spokesman for the city’s law department declined to comment.
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This story has been corrected to reflect the correct spelling of the deputy mayor for public safety’s first name: Philip, not Phillip.
