Four separate federal investigations, a police commissioner out, and phones seized from some of the most senior people at City Hall. By late September 2024, New York Mayor Eric Adams was running an administration that was losing officials faster than he could explain why.
The first to go was Edward Caban. The police commissioner resigned on Thursday, 12 September, days after it was first reported that investigators from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York had taken his electronic devices. A source told CNN the inquiry touches on his brother and on how the law was enforced around nightclubs. Fox 5 reported that agents were reportedly examining whether his twin brother, James, sold police protection to nightclubs and restaurants. Details of the probe remained unclear, and Caban’s lawyers said they had been told he was not a target.
“The news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department,” Caban said in his statement. Adams said he had accepted the resignation because it “was the best decision at this time”, and named Tom Donlon, a former FBI official, as interim commissioner. Caban had held the job for 13 months and had spent 32 years with the NYPD.
The circle widens
The week before, federal investigators had gone to the homes of several top officials and taken devices. The list included First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks III, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Tim Pearson, a former police inspector who advises the mayor. Phones belonging to three lower-ranking police officials were also subpoenaed. Earlier in the year, the FBI had raided the homes of Winnie Greco, another top aide, in a separate inquiry run by the US attorney for the Eastern District.
The departures kept coming. Lisa Zornberg, the chief counsel who had been lead attorney for the mayor and City Hall since July 2023, resigned on Saturday, 15 September. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, who had led his department since 2022, submitted his resignation and said he would leave by the end of the year. Then David Banks told the Associated Press, in a retirement letter, that he would step down at the end of the calendar year as well. He wrote that he had told the mayor over the summer, “after ensuring the school year got off to a good start”. Banks was the fourth high-ranking official to announce an exit in a matter of weeks.
Fox 5 counted a drumbeat of subpoenas and raids, with investigators visiting more than a dozen members of the administration. Through all of it, neither Adams nor his staff members had been accused of any wrongdoing, CNN noted, and Adams repeatedly said he was cooperating with the federal inquiry. The US attorneys’ offices and the FBI declined to comment.
Sources
- New York City's police commissioner resigns as investigations swirl around mayor's inner circle (CNN)
- Who has resigned from NYC Mayor Adams' administration? (FOX 5 New York, with Associated Press)
