Former aide to Eric Adams pleads guilty to soliciting straw donations for mayor's campaign
Mohamed Bahi, who served as City Hall's chief liaison to the Muslim community, admitted in federal court that he helped solicit the illegal donations for Adams' mayoral campaign from employees of a Brooklyn construction company at a December 2020 fundraiser.
'I understood that the Adams campaign would then seek matching funds for those donations,' Bahi told a judge, adding that he knew the employees would be reimbursed and 'that it was wrong.'
Bahi, 41, was originally charged in October with witness tampering and destroying evidence as part of a sweeping federal investigation into Adams, culminating in the indictment of the mayor on charges of accepting bribes and campaign contributions from foreign interests in a separate fundraising scheme.
At the time, prosecutors said it was 'likely' that others would be charged as part of 'several related investigations.'
Then, in February, the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams, arguing the case was interfering with the mayor's ability to assist in President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The remarkable intervention prompted protests and resignations from several top prosecutors, including the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who accused Adams of striking a quid pro quo with Trump.
Adams has adamantly denied any wrongdoing and pledged to continue his re-election campaign on an independent ballot line.
But even as the mayor no longer faces legal consequences, it has remained an open question how prosecutors will handle the web of investigations into his inner circle and campaign apparatus.
They have not provided any information about the status of other cases, including investigations that resulted in federal agents seizing phones last fall from the city's police commissioner, multiple deputy mayors and other close advisers to Adams.
The owner of a separate construction company, Erden Arkan, pleaded guilty in January to funneling illegal campaign contributions to Adams. He is scheduled for sentencing later this week.
Bahi will be sentenced on Nov. 17 on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Bahi and his lawyer declined to comment as he left the courtroom Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan did not respond to an emailed inquiry.
A spokesperson for Adams also did not return messages seeking comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump administration's lawsuit against all of Maryland's federal judges meets skepticism in court
BALTIMORE (AP) — A judge on Wednesday questioned why it was necessary for the Trump administration to sue Maryland's entire federal bench over an order that paused the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen didn't issue a ruling following a hearing in federal court in Baltimore, but he expressed skepticism about the administration's extraordinary legal maneuver, which attorneys for the Maryland judges called completely unprecedented. Cullen serves in the Western District of Virginia, but he was tapped to oversee the Baltimore case because all of Maryland's 15 federal judges are named as defendants, a highly unusual circumstance that reflects the Republican administration's aggressive response to courts that slow or stop its policies. At issue in the lawsuit is an order signed by Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III that prevents the administration from immediately deporting any immigrants seeking review of their detention in a Maryland federal court. The order blocks their removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after their habeas corpus petition is filed. The Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit in June, says the automatic pause impedes President Donald Trump's authority to enforce immigration laws. But attorneys for the judges argue the lawsuit was intended to limit the power of the judiciary to review certain immigration proceedings while the administration pursues a mass deportation agenda. 'The executive branch seeks to bring suit in the name of the United States against a co-equal branch of government,' attorney Paul Clement said during Wednesday's hearing. 'There really is no precursor for this suit' Clement listed several other avenues the administration could have taken to challenge the order, such as filing an appeal in an individual habeas case. Cullen also asked the government's attorneys whether they had considered that alternative, which he said could have been more expeditious than suing all the judges. He also questioned what would happen if the administration accelerated its current approach and sued a federal appellate bench, or even the Supreme Court. 'I think you probably picked up on the fact that I have some skepticism,' Cullen told Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Themins Hedges when she stood to present the Trump administration's case. Hedges denied that the case would 'open the floodgates' to similar lawsuits. She said the government is simply seeking relief from a legal roadblock preventing effective immigration enforcement. 'The United States is a plaintiff here because the United States is being harmed,' she said. Cullen, who was nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2019, said he would issue a ruling by Labor Day on whether to dismiss the lawsuit. If allowed to proceed, he could also grant the government's request for a preliminary injunction that would block the Maryland federal bench from following the conditions of the chief judge's order. The automatic pause in deportation proceedings sought to maintain existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of the court, ensure immigrant petitioners are able to participate in court proceedings and access attorneys and give the government 'fulsome opportunity to brief and present arguments in its defense,' according to the order. Russell also said the court had received an influx of habeas petitions after hours that 'resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings in that obtaining clear and concrete information about the location and status of the petitioners is elusive.' Habeas petitions allow people to challenge their detention by the government. The administration accused Maryland judges of prioritizing a regular schedule, saying in court documents that 'a sense of frustration and a desire for greater convenience do not give Defendants license to flout the law.' Among the judges named in the lawsuit is Paula Xinis, who found the administration illegally deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in March — a case that quickly became a flashpoint in Trump's immigration crackdown. Abrego Garcia was held in a notorious Salvadoran megaprison, where he claims to have been beaten and tortured. The administration later brought Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. and charged him with human smuggling in Tennessee. His attorneys characterized the charge as an attempt to justify his erroneous deportation. Xinis recently prohibited the administration from taking Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail pending trial.
Toronto Star
31 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Campaigners of a sweeping plastics treaty climb buildings, hand out soap and cover art with waste
GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss ocean protection group is handing out bars of soap in cardboard boxes, with a simple message that reads: 'no dirty tricks, vote for a clean plastics treaty.' Some delegates from the Geneva-based foundation have been wearing wristbands that measure chemical exposure from plastics. As negotiators working on a global accord to end plastic pollution approach their Thursday deadline, proponents of a sweeping treaty are finding different ways to get their message across.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Germany and allies to send major military aid package to Ukraine using new NATO supply line
BERLIN (AP) — Germany announced on Wednesday that it will work with a group of Ukraine's Western backers to supply a package of military aid to the war-ravaged country worth up to $500 million using a new NATO supply line. Earlier this month, NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said that it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($582 million).
