Federal investigators probing Mayor Adams’ 2021 campaign are now focusing on a series of texts that suggest he helped expedite the opening of the Turkish government’s new diplomatic headquarters in Manhattan, sources close to the case told The Post.
Text messages from September 2021 between Adams, who was then Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic mayoral candidate, and Turkish Consul General Reyhan Özgür and then-FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, were discovered by FBI agents on Monday after Adams’ electronic devices were confiscated.
The texts were described by sources to The Post.
Since Monday, the feds’ questions about the contents of the devices – which included three cellphones and two iPads – have focused on these texts, the sources said.
However, the messages do not appear to show any criminal activity beyond the typical outreach undertaken by elected officials on behalf of constituents, according to several sources briefed on the matter.
Mayor Eric Adams has strongly denied any wrongdoing and has said he is fully cooperating with a federal investigation into his 2021 campaign. Getty Images In September 2021, two months before he was elected mayor, Eric Adams sent a text message to then-FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro (far left). and he asked if he could investigate why the FDNY had not yet issued a “temporary certificate of occupancy” needed to open the Turkish government’s new diplomatic headquarters in Manhattan. Tomas E. Gaston
In a text dated September 5, 2021, Özgür informed Adams that construction of the new Turkevi Center diplomatic headquarters, located at 46th Street and First Avenue, across from the United Nations building, was recently completed, the sources said. .
However, Özgür noted that while the new headquarters received the necessary approvals from the city’s Department of Buildings to operate, it still had to obtain a “temporary occupancy certificate” from the Fire Department. He then asked Adams if he knew Nigro and could help.
Adams, according to sources, approached Nigro and asked him to investigate the matter, but did not order him to do anything.
On September 10, Nigro sent a text message to the future mayor, telling him that the necessary approval would be ready by the following Monday or September 13.
The Turkevi Center, the new headquarters of the Turkish Consulate General in New York City, is now the focus of a federal investigation into Mayor Eric Adam’s 2021 fundraising based on new texts that have emerged, sources said. Facebook Consulate General of Türkiye in New York
The 36-story Turkevi Center skyscraper celebrated its grand opening on September 21, 2021. In addition to being the headquarters of the Turkish consulate in New York, it also includes meeting spaces, commercial spaces and apartments.
Adams’ campaign declined to comment on the content of the phone text messages. Nigro and representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday evening.
Rubén Díaz Jr., former state assemblyman and Bronx borough president, questioned whether the feds are firing blanks when told about the texts.
“I don’t think that should be smoking gun,” he said. “I don’t see any problem at all. Each elected official makes calls to city agencies on behalf of entities, businesses and constituents. This is what we do.”
Councilman Kevin Riley, another Bronx Democrat, agreed and said he believed the mayor did nothing wrong.
Five days after being asked to investigate the matter, then-FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro texted Adams in September 2021 and said his department would give the Turkish government the green light to open the new consulate. of Turkey in Manhattan. Dennisthephotog.com
“It is not strange for a [elected] member to contact a commissioner to see what they can do for voters. It’s generally protocol,” Riley said.
Federal authorities are investigating whether the Turkish government or Turkish citizens illegally funneled donations to Adams’ campaign through the use of “fake donors,” a scheme in which contributors listed in official records are not the actual source of funding. and whether Adams did quid-pro-quo. favors.
Investigators were specifically looking for evidence that the campaign returned benefits to leaders and employees of Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group and Turkish officials.
The seizure of Adams’ electronic devices came four days after FBI agents armed with a warrant burst into the Brooklyn home of his top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, 25, looking for documents related to contributions to Adams’ 2021 campaign, as well as records of campaign staffers’ trips to Turkey that could reveal more about any ties to the Turkish government.
The raid prompted the mayor to cancel a meeting with White House officials about the Big Apple’s growing migrant crisis. Adams, who has criticized President Biden’s lax border policies, flew back to New York City almost as soon as he landed in DC.
Adams’ campaign attorney Boyd Johnson said Friday that the mayor was cooperating with federal authorities and had already reported that an internal review found that “an individual had recently acted inappropriately.”
“In the interest of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators,” Johnson said.
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