- The Washington Times - Thursday, February 29, 2024

FBI agents on Thursday raided the Bronx residence of a senior adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Winnie Greco, a special adviser to Mr. Adams and director of Asian affairs, has been placed on leave from her $100,000-a-year job after agents conducted the raid.

Mr. Adams’ 2021 campaign has been under a federal public corruption probe for several months. The raid on Ms. Greco’s home comes just months after the homes of two other of Mr. Adams’ senior staffers were searched.

News 12 the Bronx first reported the investigation of Ms. Greco’s home.

“Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines,” a spokesperson from city hall told The Washington Times.

“As we have repeatedly said, we don’t comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing.”

The Washington Times reached out to the FBI but did not immediately hear back.  

However, a source has told The Times that federal law enforcement has not reached out to anyone at City Hall about this matter today.

Ms. Greco, whose Chinese name is Zheng Qirong, headed up a food export business before working in the political world.

She made news in September when it was reported by the New York Post that she had been named by Chinese Communist Party-backed organizations as their longtime “consultant.”

The mayor’s office at the time disputed she was a “consultant for anything or anyone” and only served city hall.  

Last November, FBI agents raided the homes of his top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and City Hall staffer Rana Abbasova.

The FBI also seized cellphones used by Mr. Adams and searched his car as part of the corruption probe, an investigation into whether the New York Democrat’s campaign accepted illicit donations from the Turkish government.

Federal agents searched Mr. Adams’ car and seized his digital devices.

Mr. Adams released a statement at the time saying that he would be angry if “anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign.”

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.

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