Mayor Adams, former chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, turns herself in and is charged with bribery

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) – The New York mayor’s former senior adviser, her son and two real estate investors were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges Thursday, a case that comes as the mayor himself battles a separate corruption case and a series of criminal investigations rock City Hall.

Lewis-Martin and her son Glenn Martin II reported to court at 100 Center Street Thursday morning. Charges are also being filed against two other men.

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, until recently one of the most powerful figures in city government, was brought into a Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs. She, her son Glenn D. Martin II – a DJ who once performed at City Hall – and real estate investors Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi pleaded not guilty as prosecutors accused the four of participating in an apparent pay-to-play scheme to have been involved.

“This was an unrestricted on-call quid pro quo agreement” in which Lewis-Martin and her son pocketed over $100,000 in cash and other assistance in exchange for their speeding permits on construction projects, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference.

He said the program continued through much of Lewis-Martin’s nearly three-year tenure as chief adviser to Mayor Eric Adams – a post she left just last weekend.

Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, described his client as “an exemplary citizen of the city of New York.”

Aidala said prosecutors have launched a political case against Lewis-Martin, suggesting they are trying to get after her former boss and longtime friend, Mayor Adams.

“This is a political case, this is a kind of witch hunt,” Aidala said. “I don’t know if they’re trying to get Eric Adams. Ingrid Lewis-Martin has nothing bad to say about Eric Adams. So if they think there’s a way to get to him, they’re dead wrong.”

But prosecutors said in a court document that Lewis-Martin “abused her position and sold her influence to enrich herself and her family.”

Prosecutors wrote that the developers repeatedly asked Lewis-Martin for help in approving projects such as a rooftop bar and a hotel, and she in turn pressured city building department officials to take action, which they did would have done too.

“She delivered for them time and time again,” Bragg said.

In return, the developers paid $100,000 to Lewis-Martin’s son, who transferred the money to an account he shared with her and used some of it to buy a $113,000 Porsche last year, according to reports the prosecutor’s office in the court document. They said the son also received help from the businessmen in some of his own ventures.

Aidala said Lewis-Martin knew “nothing” about the loan her son allegedly received to purchase the Porsche.

“Ingrid knew nothing, nothing about the loan between her son and these boys,” he said. “He is 38 years old. It’s not like he’s an 18 year old boy and she’s trying to get him a job somewhere. He is 38 years old. There was a business arrangement between her son and them that was completely legitimate. Ingrid knew nothing.” About that. Nothing, zero, zero. He’s 38!”

He said the indictment had “no surprises…no surprises” and that the evidence cited against it had been “completely” misinterpreted.

The case against Lewis-Martin stems from an ongoing investigation. This is not about Mayor Adams, who is facing his own legal problems.

On Monday, Lewis-Martin’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told reporters he expected his client to be charged over the alleged improper gifts, saying: “We’re pretty sure we’ll be appearing in court one day this week at 100 p.m. “Center Street.”

He said she had been invited to speak to the grand jury about the indictment but declined at the time because the outcome of the investigation appeared to be predetermined.

“Puzzle pieces are put together to make it look as horrible as possible,” Aidala said, sitting next to Lewis-Martin in his Manhattan office. “But we know the truth, and the truth is that Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law.”

Lewis-Martin, 63, was one of the mayor’s closest confidants and served in senior roles as Adams rose in New York government over nearly two decades. She resigned on Sunday.

She said she was being “falsely accused” and that she had “made no arrangements to accept gifts or money or to give gifts or money to a family member or friend so that I could do my job.”

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Some information from Associated Press

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