Frank Carone Arrested In Federal Bribery Case Over Migrant Shelter Contract

Frank Carone, the former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested Wednesday in a federal bribery case tied to a migrant shelter contract, with prosecutors alleging he exploited his position to get more than $100,000 in payoffs.

“Former chief of staff to ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrested in federal bribery case Frank Carone's attorney insisted his client acted lawfully”

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The charges were unsealed in Brooklyn federal court as a 13-count indictment, and the scheme centered on steering a lucrative migrant shelter contract to a hotel that city social service officials had deemed unsuitable.

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Prosecutors said Frank Carone accepted around $120,000 in bribes from hotel owner Yan Po Zhu and hotel employee Crystal Chen to intercede on the hotel’s behalf, with the money passed through Anthony Carone’s law firm.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Winik told the court, "Frank Carone was entrusted to run our city government and instead put his own wealth and status above duty."

Carone’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said outside court that the case was based on "assumption after assumption after assumption," as Frank Carone and the other defendants pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.

In court, Frank Carone and his brother Anthony Carone sat across from each other at a defense table, while prosecutors described the alleged conduct as a scheme to exploit the city’s migrant crisis for profit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik singled out Frank Carone during the hearing, saying he "put his own status" above his duties and leveraged the need for emergency migrant housing to accept $120,000 in bribe payments.

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Carone’s attorney Arthur Aidala insisted the indictment was "weak" and said it was "based on purely circumstantial evidence that’s not worth the paper upon which it’s printed."

Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, said in a statement that "Frank Carone has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals" throughout New York.

The defendants were released on bond with restrictions on travel and communications, and the indictment included charges for bribery, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

Federal authorities also searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders Wednesday in connection with a different bribery investigation, separate from the Frank Carone case.

“Ex-chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with taking bribes NEW YORK (AP) — A former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams was arrested Wednesday in a federal bribery case about a lucrative migrant shelter contract, the latest sign that prosecutors continue to scrutinize Adams’ inner circle months after the scandal-bruised Democrat left office”

Associated Press

The searches included the homes of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, and federal agents also searched former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey’s home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches.

The law enforcement official said the searches were part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Maddrey, and there was no immediate indication of any arrests as part of those searches.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the NYPD-related investigation, writing, "This morning, members of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI executed search warrants" as part of a criminal investigation.

In the Carone case itself, prosecutors said the city ultimately awarded Microtel a nearly $7 million contract for emergency shelter, even though the hotel was smaller than another Long Island City hotel under consideration.