Eric Adams' indicted former top aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin returns to his inner circle — as mayor fails to shed problematic cronies amid tough re-election fight

New York Post

3 days ago

With friends like these …
Mayor Eric Adams is refusing to shake scandal-scarred cronies who plagued his first administration — while telling skittish backers that they have been taken off his re-election campaign, The Post has learned.
Indicted former top Adams adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin has been quietly making calls for the campaign, insiders said, with one source describing her as his 'shadow political director.'
Two other confidantes whose homes were raided by the feds in the run-up to Adams' historic corruption case — former City Hall aide Winnie Greco and fundraiser Brianna Suggs — are also helping his campaign, sources said.
'Just unbelievable,' one source said, when told about the crew's return to Adams' good graces.
The trio's resurrection comes to the chagrin of Adams' powerful backers, who want him to shed problematic pals to have any shot at beating Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in November's election, insiders said.
4 Mayor Eric Adams' indicted longtime consigliere Ingrid Lewis-Martin is helping with his re-election campaign.
Paul Martinka
At least one backer called Adams' campaign last week to raise alarm about Lewis-Martin and Greco, but were told the pair were no longer with the re-election effort, sources said.
Lewis-Martin and Greco are still working with the campaign in a volunteer capacity, while Suggs has quietly remained on the payroll since the federal probe emerged into public view, said spokesman Todd Shapiro.
'These people are not working in government, they're simply volunteering on a campaign with a thousand others,' Shapiro said. 'We are not stopping people from volunteering.'
The longtime Democrat Adams is running as an Independent in a tough re-election battle against Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, independent candidate Jim Walden and, potentially, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Business leaders and moderates frightened over the prospect of a Mamdani mayoralty have shown signs that they'll flock to Adams as their last, best shot after Cuomo was trounced by the socialist upstart in the Democratic mayoral primary.
Insiders have been telling Adams he needs to cut loose troublesome cronies to have a shot at re-election — as well as distance himself from President Trump and MAGA allies, sources said.
Adams acknowledged in a spree of mea culpa-style interviews that he hired staffers during his first term whom he 'should not have brought on board.'
But behind the scenes, Hizzoner has also stubbornly refused to cut the cords, either to his friends or Trump — a refusal that threatens to kill his long-shot re-election bid as fed-up voters associate him with corruption and the GOP's attacks on the Big Apple.
One source pointed out this was straight out of Adams' playbook — returning to chums he came up with, regardless of their baggage.
'The more someone tells him he can't do something, he'll want to do the opposite,' the source said.
Another source close to the mayor defiantly dismissed the backers' concerns.
'These are the same people that told the mayor not to run, and now they are begging him to run,' the source charged. 'So, why should he listen to these people?'
Blasts from the past
Lewis-Martin stepped down from her powerful City Hall post in December, days before prosecutors accused her of trading favors to two New York City hoteliers in exchange for $100,000 in bribes.
She denies the accusations.
4 Lewis-Martin faces bribery and conspiracy charges.
Steven Hirsch
Her resignation came as Adams — then facing his now-dismissed federal corruption case — was under pressure from Gov. Kathy Hochul to finally shed a cadre of close friends who faced criminal probes after being elevated to top spots in his administration.
Lewis-Martin, whom Adams once called his 'sister ordained by God,' had a strained relationship in the days leading to her resignation and indictment, sources had said.
Sources said Lewis-Martin, who declined to comment, has since been making calls for Adams' re-election campaign.
'She's like his shadow political director,' a source said.
4 Lewis-Martin has been close to Adams for decades.
Paul Martinka
Shapiro downplayed Lewis-Martin's role in the campaign, noting she has known Adams for 40 years.
'She is not holding an official title,' he said. 'We do not restrict people from giving their support.'
Suggs, the top campaign fundraiser whose shocking federal raid last year first revealed the corruption probe into Adams, attended the mayor's official re-election campaign launch last week.
Not only that, but Suggs stood alongside Greco — a longtime Adams aide who resigned from City Hall after her properties in the Bronx were raided by FBI agents.
Insiders were stunned to see her at the event and refused to embrace her, sources said.
Neither Greco nor Suggs has been charged in connection with the raids.
4 Adams' backers concerned about Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor want Hizzoner to shed problematic friends.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
Both Adams and Cuomo have been jockeying for support from political and business poohbahs anxious over Mamdani.
Those bigs fear that Adams and Cuomo could end up splitting anti-Mamdani votes in November and ease the socialist's path into Gracie Mansion.
Cuomo, for his part, has flip-flopped over whether he'll actively run as an Independent in November's general election — and sources said he's trying to position himself as the best candidate to defeat Mamdani, despite his lopsided primary loss.
But many of Cuomo's former supporters view his Independent run as dead-on-arrival.
Billionaire hedge fund titan Bill Ackman on Wednesday backed Adams' bid and urged the 'subdued' Cuomo to drop out.
'Eric's first term has not been without flaws,' Ackman wrote in a lengthy X post.
'In particular, he relied too much on friends of Adams to staff his administration; however, when one looks at his record in totality, he has had a strong first term.'