Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday he had accepted the resignation of Deputy Mayor Philip Banks over public safety concerns. The latest high-ranking official to leave as the mayor resists prosecution and calls for his resignation.
Adams told New York 1 that Banks told him Sunday that “he wanted to move on to some other things” and “didn’t want this to be an ongoing burden on the work we do in the city.” “I wish my good friend the best,” the mayor added.
Resign, The New York Post first reported, Coming in a month Federal agents seize equipment Senior city officials, including Banks and his brother, school principal David Banks, also announced their resignations. A total of five senior government officials resigned last month.
Federal prosecutors said they were conducting “several related investigations” in addition to the case against the mayor. Charged late last month Accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and foreign bribes. He pleads not guilty.
In a separate investigation, federal prosecutors are examining whether A consultancy run by Banks’ third brother TerenceHe broke the law by using family connections to help private companies secure city contracts, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about the investigation.
All three Banks brothers have denied wrongdoing. Philip Banks’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said Monday that federal prosecutors have assured him that his client is not a target of the investigation. He said prosecutors were initially examining “trivial” payments between the Zeller brothers that were actually related to poker games.
The Justice Department’s definition of targets is notoriously fluid. Before Adams was indicted, the city’s top legal counsel, who has since resigned, told reporters the mayor did not appear to be a target of the investigation.
Adams has resisted calls to resign and dismissed concerns about his ability to govern while mounting a legal defense and dealing with an exodus of top aides. “I believe that when the true story comes out, rather than a one-sided version, New Yorkers will see that we can stay focused and get the job done,” he said Monday.
But what he faced was The pressure to clean your home is increasing His administration includes Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove him from office.
Adams appointed Philip Banks as deputy public safety representative in 2022, a position that has not been seen in New York since the 1990s, giving him broad responsibilities over the nation’s largest police and fire departments. Influence.
Banks previously served as the NYPD’s most senior uniformed member, but resigned abruptly in 2014 after being embroiled in another corruption scandal that rocked City Hall.
In that case, federal investigators obtained approval to tap his phone because he and his wife had about $300,000 in their bank accounts. Two businessmen were later convicted of bribing police and other officials. Banks was not charged but was named as an unindicted co-conspirator.
He later admitted accepting gifts – including overseas trips, meals and cigars – from businessmen that were mistakenly omitted from disclosure forms.
“I have never violated the law or betrayed the public trust by abusing my power as an NYPD officer,” he wrote in a guest post. announce his return Public service under Adams.
Adams has been friends with the Banks brothers since the 1980s, when the future mayor was a young police officer and their father, Philip Banks Jr., was a law enforcement mentor.
On Thursday, Adams announced that David Banks would stop running the school system on Oct. 16, rather than at the end of the calendar year as previously announced. David Banks said in a statement that he had planned to stay on until the end of the year to “provide for a responsible transition for our people,” but that Adams “decided to accelerate that timeline.”
In addition to confiscating the phones of the three Banks brothers, federal investigators also took devices from Edward Caban, the city’s police chief, and Timothy Pierson, one of Adams’ closest aides. Both have since resigned. Caban and Pearson have both denied wrongdoing.
During a press conference last month, Adams spoke of his close relationship with the Banks brothers.
“I’ve known the Banks family for many years,” he said. “When I get to know someone, I hold them to the same standards that I hold myself to.”
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