Eric Adams' Questionable Associates Prove Problematic for Him
Following the departure of the NYPD commissioner, inquiries are being reignited regarding the mayor's decisions on personnel.
TroibNews 
NEW YORK — Among Mayor Eric Adams’ contentious appointees were an unindicted co-conspirator, a purported sexual harasser, and a senior police official accused of assaulting a female subordinate, but the scrutiny over these choices has intensified this week.
The resignation of New York City’s police commissioner, following a federal raid on his home, has heightened questions about the mayor's personnel decisions.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s exit marks the first significant departure since federal agents seized phones from several of Adams’ close aides last week. This development is just the latest episode in a saga that traces back to January 2022 when Adams, newly elected, began appointing individuals with questionable histories likely to attract scrutiny.
In forming his administration, Adams appointed Phil Banks to the position of deputy mayor for public safety, despite the fact that the former NYPD chief had been caught accepting gifts from individuals eventually convicted of bribery a decade earlier.
He also placed his former police chief and personal associate, Tim Pearson, into a powerful advisory position and assigned him control over a newly established municipal office with broad powers. Pearson is currently facing four sexual harassment lawsuits, and one of his accusers has claimed that his behavior was well-known for years.
The complaint states that the city “knew about” Pearson’s “long history of sexual misconduct … but ignored his history and hired him anyway.” Pearson’s lawyer has denied all allegations against him.
Following the recent events, both Banks and Pearson had their phones seized by federal agents, together with Caban’s.
These investigations have prompted renewed scrutiny of the mayor’s judgment and raised concerns about whether his loyalty to troubled aides has become a serious political liability. Virtually every Democrat vying for the chance to run against him in the upcoming primary is zeroing in on his perceived ethical shortcomings.
“Far be it for me to tell Eric Adams who to hire and fire. But it’s clear to me that he didn’t understand the most important part of being mayor,” said Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller and a likely candidate against Adams. “He made poor choices, and it’s come back to hurt him.”
The issues extend beyond these appointments.
Jeffrey Maddrey, the mayor’s choice for chief of the NYPD, faced allegations of physically assaulting a fellow officer he allegedly pressured into a sexual relationship. Although the case was dismissed by a judge, he was penalized with a reduction of 45 vacation days in an internal inquiry.
Adams’ former chief of staff is embroiled in legal trouble linked to past business dealings, while his former buildings commissioner left amid an investigation associated with bribery charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
On a personal level, Adams maintains friendships with twin brothers who admitted guilt to financial crimes a decade ago. A pastor who has referred to Adams as a mentor was recently sentenced to nine years for misappropriating a parishioner’s retirement savings.
Adams appointed a Bronx clergyman known for anti-gay rhetoric to serve as a faith adviser, despite opposition from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. One of his community liaisons is also under federal scrutiny regarding a trip to China she took with Adams.
While many of Adams’ administrative appointments are viewed favorably, the number of associates entangled in controversy continues to rise.
“It just raises questions to me as to why our mayor feels so incredibly comfortable surrounding himself with a myriad of unsavory characters,” stated Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University and co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast. “You’ve got people accused of punching people in the face, of sexual inappropriateness. The list of grievances is long and getting longer, so why would you invite that into your inner circle?”
Adams prides himself on offering second chances and insists his door is open to all. His own rise in politics—from a dyslexic Black youth from Queens who faced police violence to a controversial police officer and ultimately to mayor—has influenced this perspective.
“Yes, I’m going to talk with people who have stumbled and fell,” Adams remarked in 2022. “Because I’m perfectly imperfect, and this is a city made up of perfectly imperfect people.”
The company Adams keeps, both in his inner circle and personal life, has attracted criticism for decades, stretching back to the early years of his political career.
In his initial run for office in 1994, a challenge against a congressional incumbent, Adams’ campaign faltered partly due to his association with Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who has been accused of antisemitism. Subsequently, Adams came under investigation while serving as a police officer for working security for boxer Mike Tyson, who had just finished a prison sentence for rape.
After winning a seat in the state Senate, Adams became a supporter of a group of Democrats known as the “four amigos,” who caused disruption within the chamber by defecting from their party. Three of the amigos later faced imprisonment for various crimes, while the fourth, Rubén Díaz Sr., became a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Adams later found himself involved in a bidding process for a slot machine contract alongside state Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith. That arrangement fell through, leading to an ethics report that criticized Adams for “exceedingly poor judgment.” Sampson and Smith would eventually serve prison sentences for unrelated offenses.
As mayor, Adams’ proposal to appoint his brother Bernard to a lucrative NYPD position to head his security detail raised concerns. Ethics guidance was only sought after the decision was made; subsequently, Bernard’s title was downgraded, and his salary was set to $1. He left his post after a year.
Adams also appointed nonprofit executive Sheena Wright as a deputy mayor, a decade after she was arrested twice in one day during a domestic incident. After intervention from her friend David Banks, who is now the schools chancellor, charges against Wright were dropped.
Wright and David Banks were part of the group whose phones were recently seized by federal investigators, highlighting yet another instance of the repercussions of Adams’ personnel choices.
Although Adams is loyal to his associates, there are limits; he distanced himself from the pastor he once mentored, maintained distance from Hiram Monserrate—one of the four amigos who has sought political comebacks—and now terminated Caban’s position.
“There comes a time when we have to look and see: Is our loyalty to the detriment of the people of New York? And if that point is reached, then you need to make hard judgment calls,” stated state Sen. James Sanders, a Democrat from southeast Queens who endorsed Adams for mayor in 2021.
“When the mayor comes out of this situation,” Sanders added regarding the recent incidents, “he will have learned many valuable lessons.”
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
The resignation of New York City’s police commissioner, following a federal raid on his home, has heightened questions about the mayor's personnel decisions.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s exit marks the first significant departure since federal agents seized phones from several of Adams’ close aides last week. This development is just the latest episode in a saga that traces back to January 2022 when Adams, newly elected, began appointing individuals with questionable histories likely to attract scrutiny.
In forming his administration, Adams appointed Phil Banks to the position of deputy mayor for public safety, despite the fact that the former NYPD chief had been caught accepting gifts from individuals eventually convicted of bribery a decade earlier.
He also placed his former police chief and personal associate, Tim Pearson, into a powerful advisory position and assigned him control over a newly established municipal office with broad powers. Pearson is currently facing four sexual harassment lawsuits, and one of his accusers has claimed that his behavior was well-known for years.
The complaint states that the city “knew about” Pearson’s “long history of sexual misconduct … but ignored his history and hired him anyway.” Pearson’s lawyer has denied all allegations against him.
Following the recent events, both Banks and Pearson had their phones seized by federal agents, together with Caban’s.
These investigations have prompted renewed scrutiny of the mayor’s judgment and raised concerns about whether his loyalty to troubled aides has become a serious political liability. Virtually every Democrat vying for the chance to run against him in the upcoming primary is zeroing in on his perceived ethical shortcomings.
“Far be it for me to tell Eric Adams who to hire and fire. But it’s clear to me that he didn’t understand the most important part of being mayor,” said Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller and a likely candidate against Adams. “He made poor choices, and it’s come back to hurt him.”
The issues extend beyond these appointments.
Jeffrey Maddrey, the mayor’s choice for chief of the NYPD, faced allegations of physically assaulting a fellow officer he allegedly pressured into a sexual relationship. Although the case was dismissed by a judge, he was penalized with a reduction of 45 vacation days in an internal inquiry.
Adams’ former chief of staff is embroiled in legal trouble linked to past business dealings, while his former buildings commissioner left amid an investigation associated with bribery charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
On a personal level, Adams maintains friendships with twin brothers who admitted guilt to financial crimes a decade ago. A pastor who has referred to Adams as a mentor was recently sentenced to nine years for misappropriating a parishioner’s retirement savings.
Adams appointed a Bronx clergyman known for anti-gay rhetoric to serve as a faith adviser, despite opposition from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. One of his community liaisons is also under federal scrutiny regarding a trip to China she took with Adams.
While many of Adams’ administrative appointments are viewed favorably, the number of associates entangled in controversy continues to rise.
“It just raises questions to me as to why our mayor feels so incredibly comfortable surrounding himself with a myriad of unsavory characters,” stated Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University and co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast. “You’ve got people accused of punching people in the face, of sexual inappropriateness. The list of grievances is long and getting longer, so why would you invite that into your inner circle?”
Adams prides himself on offering second chances and insists his door is open to all. His own rise in politics—from a dyslexic Black youth from Queens who faced police violence to a controversial police officer and ultimately to mayor—has influenced this perspective.
“Yes, I’m going to talk with people who have stumbled and fell,” Adams remarked in 2022. “Because I’m perfectly imperfect, and this is a city made up of perfectly imperfect people.”
The company Adams keeps, both in his inner circle and personal life, has attracted criticism for decades, stretching back to the early years of his political career.
In his initial run for office in 1994, a challenge against a congressional incumbent, Adams’ campaign faltered partly due to his association with Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who has been accused of antisemitism. Subsequently, Adams came under investigation while serving as a police officer for working security for boxer Mike Tyson, who had just finished a prison sentence for rape.
After winning a seat in the state Senate, Adams became a supporter of a group of Democrats known as the “four amigos,” who caused disruption within the chamber by defecting from their party. Three of the amigos later faced imprisonment for various crimes, while the fourth, Rubén Díaz Sr., became a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Adams later found himself involved in a bidding process for a slot machine contract alongside state Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith. That arrangement fell through, leading to an ethics report that criticized Adams for “exceedingly poor judgment.” Sampson and Smith would eventually serve prison sentences for unrelated offenses.
As mayor, Adams’ proposal to appoint his brother Bernard to a lucrative NYPD position to head his security detail raised concerns. Ethics guidance was only sought after the decision was made; subsequently, Bernard’s title was downgraded, and his salary was set to $1. He left his post after a year.
Adams also appointed nonprofit executive Sheena Wright as a deputy mayor, a decade after she was arrested twice in one day during a domestic incident. After intervention from her friend David Banks, who is now the schools chancellor, charges against Wright were dropped.
Wright and David Banks were part of the group whose phones were recently seized by federal investigators, highlighting yet another instance of the repercussions of Adams’ personnel choices.
Although Adams is loyal to his associates, there are limits; he distanced himself from the pastor he once mentored, maintained distance from Hiram Monserrate—one of the four amigos who has sought political comebacks—and now terminated Caban’s position.
“There comes a time when we have to look and see: Is our loyalty to the detriment of the people of New York? And if that point is reached, then you need to make hard judgment calls,” stated state Sen. James Sanders, a Democrat from southeast Queens who endorsed Adams for mayor in 2021.
“When the mayor comes out of this situation,” Sanders added regarding the recent incidents, “he will have learned many valuable lessons.”
Mark B Thomas contributed to this report for TROIB News
