Ingrid Lewis-Martin: Indictments, Bribery, and Adams Fallout

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, faces five Manhattan indictments alleging she accepted more than $175,000 in bribes and personal benefits between mid-2022 and September 2024 in exchange for using her City Hall influence to steer contracts, fast-track permits, and override agency officials. The corruption charges against Ingrid Lewis-Martin include bribe receiving, money laundering, and conspiracy, and she has pleaded not guilty to all of them.¹²

Who She Was Inside City Hall

Lewis-Martin has been close to Adams since roughly 1984, when he was a transit police officer working alongside her husband. She managed his 2005 state Senate campaign, served as his chief of staff for seven years, then as senior advisor, then as deputy borough president when Adams ran Brooklyn.³ On January 10, 2022, Adams named her chief advisor to the mayor at a $251,000 salary, with an office across the hall from his own.⁴⁵

Though she did not oversee specific agencies as a deputy mayor would, she was described as having “near-limitless authority” and little oversight apart from Adams. City Council Member Lincoln Restler said, “If you don’t like a project…call Ingrid and she’ll kill it.”⁵ The New York Times described her reputation as the mayor’s “heavy-handed enforcer,” regularly overriding agency commissioners.⁶ That authority is what prosecutors say she sold.

The First Indictment: December 2024

In late September 2024, Manhattan District Attorney’s investigators seized Lewis-Martin’s phones and searched her home as she returned from Japan. Federal investigators from the Southern District of New York served her a subpoena the same day.⁷ She resigned on December 15, 2024, calling it a “planned retirement.” Her attorney Arthur Aidala confirmed she expected to be indicted.⁸

Four days later, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office unsealed an indictment charging Lewis-Martin, her son Glenn D. Martin II, and two real estate investors, Raizada “Pinky” Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi, with bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy. Vaid and Dwivedi, who own the Glass Ceiling rooftop bar near Herald Square and the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side, allegedly steered more than $100,000 to Lewis-Martin and her son in exchange for her help pushing stalled Department of Buildings applications through the bureaucracy.⁹

The money allegedly moved through Martin II. In August 2023, Vaid and Dwivedi each wrote $50,000 checks to him. He deposited the funds in a joint account he shared with his mother and used them to buy a $113,000 Porsche. Martin II, who performs as “Suave” or “Suave Luciano,” ran a DJ business called Suave Productions that prosecutors say was used to process some of the funds. Lewis-Martin allegedly communicated with the developers through the encrypted messaging app Signal.¹⁰

Four More Indictments in August 2025

On August 21, 2025, Bragg announced four additional indictments, bringing the total to five and the alleged bribes and benefits to more than $175,000. The new charges added four counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree and four counts of bribe receiving in the second degree. Eight co-defendants were charged alongside her, including her son, a city official, and several business owners.¹ Bragg said she “consistently overrode the expertise of public servants so she could line her own pockets.”¹¹ Each indictment lays out a separate alleged conspiracy.

Asylum Shelters and a Queens Karaoke Bar

Prosecutors allege Lewis-Martin conspired with Flushing businessman Tian Ji Li to steer city leasing agreements for asylum seeker shelter sites to property owners Li preferred. Li, who operates the V Show karaoke club in Queens, allegedly earned a 10% commission on shelter contracts secured through the scheme; one entity on his vendor list reportedly secured a city contract from which Li received $1.2 million.¹² In return, V Show wired $50,000 to Martin II’s Suave Productions.¹³

Lewis-Martin also allegedly pressured the FDNY and Department of Buildings to fast-track fire alarm and construction permits for Li’s karaoke club, including texting the FDNY Commissioner to get a “different set of eyes” on the plans. Approvals issued weeks ahead of schedule. Jesse Hamilton, Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Services at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and a co-defendant, allegedly executed her directives. In one recorded conversation she told Hamilton, “Whatever site TJ wants, I need him to get them. Because that’s our f—ing people.”¹⁴

The McGuinness Boulevard Bike Lane

A second indictment alleges Lewis-Martin intervened to block a Department of Transportation safety redesign of McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn, including protected bike lanes, to benefit Broadway Stages, Ltd. and its owners, siblings Gina and Anthony “Tony” Argento.¹⁵ In exchange, prosecutors allege the Argentos gave her a $2,500 Zelle payment, more than $10,000 in catering for a Gracie Mansion event, a speaking role in the Hulu series Godfather of Harlem (filmed at the Argentos’ studios), clothing from Bloomingdale’s, and discussions about securing her a role on Blue Bloods.¹⁶ When Gina Argento forwarded flyers from a pro-redesign group, Lewis-Martin replied, “We are ignoring them and continuing with our plan. They can kiss my ass.”

Affordable Housing and Home Renovations

A third indictment centers on real estate developer Yechiel Landau. Prosecutors say Lewis-Martin pressured the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to expedite Landau’s projects in Red Hook, at 1211 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, and in Jamaica, Queens. She allegedly introduced Landau to the HPD Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Housing, and directed Hamilton at DCAS to secure a city leasing agreement for one of Landau’s business partners’ buildings.¹⁴ In return, Landau allegedly paid for more than $5,000 in renovations at a property Lewis-Martin owned, including an electrical permit, and funded painting and cleanup at Hamilton’s residence to create a living space for Lewis-Martin’s sister.¹⁷

A Residential Renovation Paid for in Seafood

A fourth indictment alleges Lewis-Martin lobbied the DOB Commissioner to assign a new plan examiner to an unnamed individual’s residential renovation project, which was then approved. In exchange, prosecutors say that person provided nearly $10,000 in catering for events at Gracie Mansion and City Hall, including shrimp, crab cakes, salmon, and octopus.¹

Diamond Earrings and Fire-Safety Allegations

In January 2026, prosecutors filed a 170-page response to a defense motion to dismiss, adding new allegations to the original December 2024 case. The filing alleged that Vaid and Dwivedi gave Lewis-Martin a pair of 2-carat diamond earrings valued at $3,000 at the start of the Adams administration, in exchange for her help with their building projects.¹⁸

The filing described how the alleged intervention worked. For the Glass Ceiling rooftop bar, within an hour of Lewis-Martin texting acting DOB Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik the words “Need to move this forward,” a new examiner was assigned, and the permit was approved about a week later. For the Hotel on Rivington, prosecutors alleged she pushed for a certificate of occupancy even after an inspector raised concerns about occupancy loads and inadequate fire safety exits. A DOB borough commissioner wrote in a January 2023 email that the developer was ignoring demands for safety information, calling it “a concern.” The project was approved two months later after the architect submitted an amended plan that still did not include the requested safety data.¹⁹

The Defense and Where the Case Stands

Aidala has consistently maintained her innocence, calling the prosecution “a distortion of the truth and a troubling example of politically motivated ‘lawfare.'” He argues that the charges sit at the lowest felony level under New York law and that Lewis-Martin’s actions amounted to “fulfilling her duty — helping fellow citizens navigate the City’s outdated and often overwhelming bureaucracy.” He has denied that she received personal benefits for her help.²⁰ He described the January 2026 prosecution filing as a sign of “insecurity in their case.”¹⁹

As of mid-2026, the case remains active. Lewis-Martin has pleaded not guilty across all five indictments. The defense moved to dismiss; prosecutors answered in January 2026; a court hearing was scheduled for June 25, 2026. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has said its investigation is ongoing.²¹¹

How the Case Fits the Wider Adams Scandal

Adams himself was indicted by federal prosecutors in September 2024 on bribery, wire fraud, and campaign finance charges tied to illegal foreign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign.²² A federal judge dismissed those charges with prejudice in April 2025 after the Department of Justice moved for dismissal. Adams has not been charged in the Lewis-Martin case. A mayoral spokesperson said, “Mayor Adams was not involved in this matter and has not been accused of or implicated in any wrongdoing.”²³

Other members of the administration have faced their own cases. In June 2026, Frank Carone, Adams’ former chief of staff, was arrested on federal charges alleging he accepted $120,000 in bribes to steer a multimillion-dollar emergency migrant shelter contract to a Queens hotel. Three others were indicted alongside him; Carone pleaded not guilty.²⁴ A Brooklyn real estate figure received probation for funneling illegal donations to Adams’ 2021 campaign, and an Adams aide received probation for soliciting illegal campaign funds. Several high-ranking officials, including the former police commissioner and schools chancellor, left the administration amid FBI searches but have not been criminally charged.²¹

1
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg: Ingrid Lewis-Martin Newly Indicted for Accepting More Than $75,000 in Bribes in Wide-Ranging Conspiracies
2
Courthouse News Service. Ex-Aide to NYC Mayor Pleads Not Guilty to New Corruption Charges
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City & State NY. Ingrid Lewis-Martin: NYC’s Higher Power
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NYC Mayor’s Office. Mayor Adams Appoints Ingrid Lewis-Martin as Chief Advisor to the Mayor
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Hellgate NYC. Ingrid Lewis-Martin
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The New York Times. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Eric Adams
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Politico. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Eric Adams Aide, Resigns
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PBS NewsHour. Top Aide to NYC Mayor Eric Adams Resigns and Expects to Be Indicted
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Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. D.A. Bragg Announces Indictment of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Her Son, and Two Real Estate Investors for Bribery Conspiracy
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Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Indictment No. 75644-24, Statement of Facts
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The New York Times. Ingrid Lewis-Martin Corruption Indictment
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THE CITY. Tian Ji Li, Winnie Greco, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Eric Adams
13
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Indictment 73755-2025
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Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Statement of Facts, August 21, 2025
15
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Indictment 73751-2025
16
Streetsblog NYC. The Argentos Bribed Lewis-Martin to Halt McGuinness Bike Lane, DA Says
17
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Indictment 73754-2025
18
The New York Times. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Bribes, Diamond
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THE CITY. Ingrid Lewis-Martin Diamond Earrings Bribe Indictment
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CNN. Ingrid Lewis-Martin NYC Indictments
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NBC New York. Charges Against Eric Adams Top Aide Are Just Latest Probe of Ex-Mayor’s Inner Circle
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U.S. Department of Justice. New York City Mayor Eric Adams Charged With Bribery and Campaign Finance Offenses
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ABC News. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, NYC Mayor Eric Adams
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ABC7 New York. Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams Chief of Staff Frank Carone Among 4 Arrested in Bribery Case