NYC official charged with witness tampering in Adams corruption investigation

MANHATTAN (CN) — Amid a wave of departures from the administration of indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former city hall official was arrested Tuesday on charges of witness tampering and destruction of evidence in connection with a federal investigation into unlawful contributions to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign.

In a two-count indictment federal prosecutors accused Adams’ former senior chief liaison to the Muslim community, Mohamed Bahi, of ordering other witness to lie in their statements to federal agents in June, and deleting potentially incriminating Signal app messages from his phone just before it was seized by FBI agents in July.

Bahi, a co-founder and director of Muslims Giving Back, a volunteer effort in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, used the encrypted app to communicate with Adams, prosecutors say.

He quit the Community Affairs Unit “effective immediately” on Monday and was arrested Tuesday morning.

Bahi began soliciting campaign contributions for Adams’ mayoral run beginning in 2018, when Adams was Brooklyn borough president. When several businessmen were interrogated earlier this year about so-called straw donations — those made in one donor’s name, which in fact use funds from another source — Bahi directed them to lie about those campaign contributions, prosecutors say.

The 40-year-old Staten Island resident is the first person to be charged in the investigation other than Adams, who’s referred to as “Official-1” in Bahi’s indictment.

Prosecution of Bahi’s case is being handled by the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney’ Office for Southern District of New York.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hagan Scotten, Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom are leading the prosecution, the same team of federal prosecutors handling the office’s ongoing corruption case against Adams.

Adams last month became the first sitting mayor in New York City history to be criminally charged while in office when prosecutors unsealed a five-count indictment accusing him of corruption including bribery and wire fraud.

The first-term Democratic mayor stands accused of selling his political influence to foreign nationals, including Turkish government officials and businessmen. He has pleaded not guilty and remained defiant against calls for him to resign.

Adams is reportedly the subject of at least three additional ongoing corruption probes.

In a Marist poll published Friday, 69% of New York City residents surveyed, including 71% of Democrats, said Adams should leave office. The same poll showed 63% of the city’s residents supported Governor Hochul taking administrative steps to begin removing Adams from his position.

The indictment and other investigations have shaken up Adams’ administration, resulting in waves of resignations and departures of top officials and their associates as he plans to run for reelection next year.

Follow @jruss_jruss