An investigation spearheaded by THE CITY and The Guardian has put New York Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign finance practices under a microscope. Through a discreetly recorded video, which has since been removed from YouTube, the fundraising event held in August 2021 by then-mayoral nominee Eric Adams presents discrepancies in the portrayal of a grassroots effort and the reality of a private soiree at a Long Island mansion owned by the president of New World Mall, Lian Wu Shao.
While Adams’s campaign reported raising $55,000 entirely in small donations from supposed grassroots supporters, many from low-wage workers, the matching funds program that would reward these efforts with public money is now in question. THE CITY and The Guardian have highlighted a significant disparity between the guests at the event and the reported donors, indicating that the attendees were not, after all, merely city residents but rather relatives and business associates. Reported by
THE CITY
, the campaign has claimed the cost of the house party was under $500, exempting it from certain campaign finance laws.
Central to the scrutiny is Winnie Greco, an aide to Adams and his liaison to Asian communities, who was present at the event and who recently resigned while under federal investigation. Claims that many of the donations were from employees of a grocery chain that Shao’s family partially owns are contradicted by
The Guardian
‘s findings, which highlight that most attendees were not the purported low-wage workers but seemed like Shao’s personal connections instead.
In the wake of these revelations, questions have emerged regarding the possibility of the campaign knowingly accepting what may be “straw” donations – contributions made by one party in the name of another. As reported by
The Guardian
, one worker admitted to being reimbursed after a donation, while others denied giving at all or were unaware of an event they were listed as having attended. The practice of “straw” donations would be a violation of the campaign finance rules designed to curtail business influence in politics.
The controversy raises deeper issues of integrity and accountability within political fundraising, particularly with the utilization of public matching funds that aim to enhance the political voice of individual New York City residents. With nearly $300,000 in taxpayer dollars at stake, based on the small donations from Shao’s fundraiser, the actual sources of these contributions are now coming under rigorous examination after the lavish reality of the event was captured on video.
Further complicating Adams’s situation is the following of an indictment accusing his 2021 mayoral campaign of accepting illegal donations tied to the Turkish government. This, coupled with the latest fundraiser revelations, places Greco and Shao’s financial dealings with Adams’s campaign in an even less flattering light. The FBI’s involvement through raids of Greco’s homes and Shao’s mall add a layer of seriousness to the allegations.
While neither Shao nor Greco has been formally charged, as per
The Guardian
, their roles in fundraising events continue to significantly impact the narrative around Adams’s fundraising methods. Employees of the New World Mall have recounted instances where they felt pushed to make political donations, raising suspicions about the voluntary nature of such contributions.
As the federal prosecutors delve into the matter further, the wait for future developments and potential legal consequences for those involved continues, with the public’s trust in the political campaign finance system hanging in the balance.
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