New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ (D) former top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, was indicted on bribery charges on Thursday.
According to the New York Post, Lewis-Martin, 63, is accused of helping two businessmen who gave her DJ son, Glen Martin II, who goes by DJ Suave Luciano, a $100,000 loan to buy a Porsche.
Reportedly, Manhattan prosecutors believe that Lewis-Martin, in her City Hall role, eased a hold-up with a construction project run by the two businessmen as a result (via NYP):
In return for the favor, the businessmen allegedly gave her son the massive loan to buy the luxury vehicle, sources told The Post.
Lewis-Martin, her son and at least one of the businessmen, hotelier Mayank Dwivedi, are expected to be charged.
Lewis-Martin abruptly resigned over the weekend as Adams’ senior adviser after learning an indictment was imminent.
“I’m here falsely accused of something,” Lewis-Martin said in a press conference outside her defense attorney’s office this week.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it’s something that’s illegal, and I have never done anything illegal in my capacity in government,” she added.
In a statement released on Thursday, Lewis-Martin's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, described his client as “a model citizen to the city of New York,” adding that the district attorney’s office’s “interpretation of these facts will make no sense to any New York jury.”
“To think that a high ranking city official would take a bribe in the form of a check deposited into their own bank account defies common sense,” he said. “We look forward to the citizens of the city of New York, who Ingrid has served so admirably for decades, clearing her name after a trial.”