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.