Latest news with #Bahi
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Ex-Adams aide pleads guilty to campaign funding scam
Mayor Eric Adams' former liaison to the Muslim community — considered a key witness in the feds' quashed corruption case against Hizzoner — on Tuesday pleaded guilty in a funding scam tied to Adams' 2021 campaign. Months after the Justice Department moved to toss Adams' corruption case in an arrangement a judge said smacked of an unsavory 'bargain,' Mohamed Bahi admitted that 'it was wrong' for him to falsely claim he collected $32,000 in donations from real-estate firms at a Brooklyn fundraiser in 2020. Bahi, 41, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud at the Manhattan federal court hearing, where he said he knew Adams' campaign was ripping off city taxpayers by fraudulently applying for 8-to-1 so-called 'matching funds' off the phantom donations. Mohamed Bahi cracks a half-smile outside Manhattan court Tuesday when asked if it was fair for him to have to plead guilty to a felony while Mayor Eric Adams' case was tossed. William Farrington Advertisement He will face a likely sentence of probation to six months in jail when he is sentenced Nov. 18 — two weeks after the mayoral election in which Adams is running for another term. Bahi cracked a wry half-smile but kept walking when asked as he left court whether it was 'fair' for him to have to plead guilty to a felony while his former boss Adams saw his case dismissed. The former aide had been expected to testify as a prosecution witness at Adams' trial on bribery and wire fraud charges after the feds in Manhattan's Southern District revealed in October 2024 that he allegedly name-dropped the mayor while encouraging a campaign donor to lie to the FBI. Advertisement Bahi copped a plea deal for himself with the feds in February, court papers say. Soon afterward, Manhattan federal prosecutors prepped a new bombshell indictment charging Adams, 64, with destroying evidence and telling people to lie to the FBI, according to the interim US Attorney for the Southern District at the time, Danielle Sassoon. Bahi had name-dropped Adams while encouraging a donor to lie to the FBI, court papers alleged. Facebook/Mohamed Bahi But before the new indictment could be unveiled, President Trump's Department of Justice moved to dismiss Adams' case — prompting Sassoon and the lead prosecutor on Adams' case to resign in protest. Advertisement The mayor, who is seeking re-election as an independent, pleaded not guilty after being charged with soliciting tens of thousands of illegal donations and taking $123,000 worth of travel-perk bribes from Turkish nationals in exchange for fast-tracking the opening of the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan. He denied wrongdoing, with his lawyers deriding the case as overhyped and 'politically motivated.' The judge overseeing Adams' case, Dale Ho, has written that the situation struck him as a 'bargain' in which the DOJ agreed to toss the charges in exchange for Adams' compliance with the White House's aggressive deportation efforts. Advertisement 'Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,' Ho said in a 78-page ruling formally getting rid of the case. City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak Atlus told The Post on Tuesday, 'As Mayor Adams has said both publicly and under oath, he has broken no laws and has always instructed his team to follow the law.' –– Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former aide to Eric Adams pleads guilty to soliciting straw donations for mayor's campaign
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded guilty Tuesday to soliciting straw donations in a case tied to separate corruption charges against Adams that the Trump administration ultimately decided to drop. 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.
Maroc
07-08-2025
- Business
- Maroc
UN Conference on LLDCs: Official Pleads for Integrated Transport Corridors to Promote Connectivity
Overcoming geographical isolation of landlocked developing countries starts with large-scale investment in integrated, multimodal transport corridors, Adil Bahi, Director of Transport Strategy, Management, and Coordination at the Ministry of Transport and Logistics said on Thursday in Awaza, Turkmenistan. Speaking at a round table organized as part of the 3rd UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), Bahi stressed that major investment for this purpose should concern integrated transport corridors combining roads, railways, dry ports, and logistics platforms. To bridge the connectivity gap in LLDCs, Bahi advocated accelerating the development of multimodal infrastructure. The official also emphasized the importance of innovation and financing, noting that the latter remains a major obstacle. He thus called for better integration of transport projects into climate financing mechanisms, particularly those supporting rail infrastructure, multimodal logistics, and low-emission freight corridors. Highlighting the significance of the Royal Initiative to facilitate access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, which will help these countries benefit from Moroccan infrastructure, Bahi reaffirmed the Kingdom's commitment to working hand in hand with LLDCs and all partners to transform geographical constraints into corridors of opportunity based on solid infrastructure, an ambitious vision, and shared prosperity. In terms of institutional and technical capacity-building, the Moroccan official conveyed the Kingdom's willingness to support skill development efforts, particularly through its engineering, logistics, and training institutions, in favor of LLDCs willing to develop and manage cross-border transport systems. With regard to the digitization of border procedures and logistic chains, Bahi spotlighted Morocco's significant investments in port community systems and digital freight traceability, calling for harmonizing technical standards and joint corridor governance. The Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, held on August 5-8, aims to rethink the development path of these landlocked countries. It provides a platform for exchange between high-level delegations, international officials, investors, and organizations to discuss, in particular, devising strategies to fully integrate the specific challenges of these countries into global policies, investment plans, and perspectives related to the sustainable development agenda. The first edition was held in August 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, while the second took place in November 2014 in Vienna, Austria. (MAP: 07 August 2025)
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indicted ex-Adams aide Mohamed Bahi plea agreement in limbo after mayor's case dismissal
Even though he agreed to plead guilty in February, Mohamed Bahi, an ex-City Hall aide charged with funneling illegal straw donations to Mayor Adams' campaign, has for months held off on formally owning up to any crimes as his lawyer remains in talks with federal prosecutors 'regarding the resolution' of his case, court filings show. The fact that discussions are continuing points to the possibility new information may have surfaced complicating the terms of Bahi's plea deal, ex-federal prosecutors told the Daily News. The holdup is coming to light after President Trump's Justice Department last week secured a dismissal of Adams' corruption indictment, which accused the mayor of participating in the same straw donor scheme Bahi was charged with helping orchestrate. Bahi's lawyer, Derek Adams, declined to comment Thursday on whether the snag in his client's case is connected to the quashing of Adams' indictment, a dismissal that has led many to believe the mayor is beholden to Trump's political agenda. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, which indicted both Bahi and Adams, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. It's common for federal prosecutors to offer leniency for defendants in corruption investigations who agree to testify against others charged in the same probe. It's unclear if Bahi made any agreement to testify against Adams at his trial. But Duncan Levin, a white collar criminal defense attorney who used to be a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, noted any such agreement would now be moot, given the dismissal of Adams' indictment. Levine also said the delay in Bahi's case likely stems from his lawyer questioning the idea that the Southern District would end Adams' indictment but not his client's. 'That's what I would say: You're going to corruptly dismiss the charge against the mayor but not against my client? There's something very unfair about this whole situation,' Levin said. 'It's totally unthoughtful for DOJ to dismiss charges against Adams and not consider the co-defendants, because it results in a perverse outcome where justice is flipped on its head and lower-level defendants can face jail time while the supposed ring leader goes free.' Prosecutors first revealed Feb. 7 that Bahi would plead guilty to a conspiracy count in connection with his role in pumping illegal straw donations into Adams' 2021 campaign coffers on behalf of a politically-connected Brooklyn developer, who in turn allegedly got help from the mayor with a building permit issue. The prosecutors wrote at the time Bahi, who used to be Adams' Muslim community liaison at City Hall, had entered into a written plea agreement. Mayor Adams to travel to the Dominican Republic to mourn nightclub roof collapse City Council moves to add 1,000 new public bathrooms, so NYC is 'free to pee' NYC Council gives itself power to sue Mayor Adams over ICE on Rikers, citing Trump concerns NYC comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan nets key union support amid Hudson Yards casino debate Mayor Adams' 'Safe Streets, Affordable City' ballot tagline points to election strategy A few days later, on Feb. 13, Trump Justice Department appointees first moved to drop Adams' indictment, which accused him of taking bribes and illegal campaign cash, mostly from Turkish government officials, in exchange for political favors. Adams has said he did nothing wrong and denies a quid pro quo with Trump's administration. Since Feb. 13, Bahi's attorney and Southern District prosecutors have entered into three separate agreements to waive the Speedy Trial Act — which requires a case to move to a preliminary hearing within 21 days — so they can continue 'discussions' about his plea, filings show. This Monday, they submitted the latest extension, freezing Bahi's case through May 9 in hopes they can 'reach a resolution of this matter,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman wrote in the new filing. 'As noted in certain of the Government's prior requests, the defendant previously entered into a written plea agreement with the Government. However, defense counsel Derek Adams, Esq., and the Government are continuing to have discussions regarding the resolution of this case,' Sobelman wrote. The only other person charged as part of the years-long probe that produced Adams' indictment was Erden Arkan, a real estate developer who pleaded guilty in January to steering illegal straw donations to Adams on behalf of Turkey's government. Unlike Bahi, Arkan's plea was formalized in that a judge accepted it at a hearing. The judge has scheduled Arkan's sentencing for August, months after the April 21 trial Adams was supposed to face in Manhattan Federal Court.
CBS News
08-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former City Hall aide charged in case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams plans to plead guilty
NEW YORK — Mohamed Bahi, an ex-employee of Mayor Eric Adams' administration, plans to plead guilty to charges as part of the federal corruption case against the mayor. Bahi served as City Hall's chief liaison to the Muslim community. He resigned in October, the same day that Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III and Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco submitted their resignations. He was indicted by federal investigators a few days later. According to court papers, Bahi has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy for his role in the collection of illegal straw donor contributions to the mayor's 2021 campaign. Bahi was named as "Adams Employee 1" in the indictment against the mayor. He was also accused of trying to delete messaging apps from his cellphone when officers came to his house to execute a search warrant. Sources tell CBS News New York lawyers for the Justice Department have met with Adams' defense team and Manhattan federal prosecutors to discuss dropping the corruption case against the mayor. Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. His trial is currently scheduled for April.
