By Matthew Haag, William K. Rashbaum, Olivia Bensimon, Dana Rubinstein and Michael Rothfeld

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams was defiant Thursday (26) in the face of five federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, insisting he would stay in office and imploring New Yorkers to hear his defence.

The indictment against him, which was unsealed Thursday morning after a search of the mayor’s official residence, followed an investigation that started in 2021. Prosecutors said the scheme had begun when he was a top elected official in the Brooklyn borough and continued after he became mayor.

The investigation focused on whether Adams, 64, had conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign campaign contributions in exchange for acting on its behalf.

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Adams had been “showered” with gifts that he knew were illegal.

“This was a multiyear scheme to buy favour with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams,” Williams said at a news conference. “Year after year, he kept the public in the dark.”

Williams discussed the indictment moments after Adams finished a raucous news conference at Gracie Mansion surrounded by supporters. Adams cast himself as a victim and urged New Yorkers to be patient.

He said he would not resign despite numerous calls from elected officials — and hecklers who constantly interrupted and called him a disgrace. “I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defence,” Adams said.

Adams had “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits” since at least 2014, when he was Brooklyn borough president, according to the indictment.

The benefits included luxury travel — free and discounted Turkish Airlines tickets and free meals and hotel rooms — from wealthy foreigners and at least one Turkish government official, prosecutors said. He travelled on the airline even when it was inconvenient, they said, including a 2017 flight to France from New York that first stopped in Istanbul.

Adams tried to hide the gifts or make them appear as if he had paid for them, according to the indictment. Their value exceeded $100,000, prosecutors said.

“That’s just a clumsy cover-up,” Williams said.

In exchange, prosecutors said, Adams pressured officials at the New York Fire Department to permit a new Turkish consulate building in Manhattan despite safety problems. A Fire Department official overseeing the safety assessment said he was told he would lose his job if he did not follow the order.

“His foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City’s mayor,” prosecutors said in the indictment. “Adams agreed, providing favourable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received.”

The investigation culminated dramatically at dawn Thursday. At about 6 a.m., nearly a dozen men and women dressed in business attire arrived in SUVs outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence, in Manhattan.

A lawyer for Adams, Alex Spiro, issued a statement saying that the agents had come for the mayor’s phone, even though investigators had taken electronic devices from him last year.

In an email, Spiro said: “Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams’ phone (again). He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”

Adams, a retired police captain, was elected New York’s 110th mayor in 2021 after a campaign built on a pledge to reduce crime and bring professionalism to City Hall. His inner circle has been engulfed by federal investigations, and some have recently resigned.

On Wednesday night, elected officials called for Adams to resign, including several Democrats running against him in next year’s primary. Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him from office; she has yet to comment on the indictment.

Here’s what else to know:

— What could happen:

If Adams resigns, the acting mayor would be Jumaane Williams, New York City’s public advocate. He would schedule a nonpartisan special election for a new mayor, which could take place within 90 days.

— Timeline:

The investigation involving Adams burst into public view nearly a year ago when the FBI raided the home of his chief fundraiser. Investigators seized his electronic devices a few days later.

— Array of inquiries:

Four federal investigations have ensnared the Adams administration and high-ranking officials, including the police commissioner and the schools’ chancellor.

-New York Times