NEW YORK (AP) – A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is discussing a possible plea deal with federal prosecutors following his arrest last month on charges of tampering with witnesses and destroying evidence, court papers show.
Mohamed Bahi, who served as City Hall’s primary liaison to the Muslim community, was was arrested last month as part of a wide-ranging investigation into Adams and his campaign fundraising that led to the mayor’s indictment on corruption charges in September.
In a court filing made public this week, prosecutors said talks were ongoing with Bahi’s attorney “regarding the possible handling of this case.” The filing did not clarify the nature of those discussions or whether an appeal would require Bahi to cooperate with federal investigators.
Requests to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan were not returned. An attorney for Bahi, Derek Adams, also did not return a request for comment.
Adams pleaded not guilty to allegations that he accepted bribes of free and discounted foreign vacations and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals, including a Turkish diplomat.
Bahi, 40, was charged two weeks later in a separate collection scheme. Prosecutors say he encouraged the owner of a Brooklyn construction company to reimburse four employees for their $2,000 donations to Adams, allowing the campaign to fraudulently obtain public matching funds.
An indictment said that after FBI agents contacted the construction company’s owner this summer, Bahi advised the businessman to lie to investigators, telling him that Adams believed he would not cooperate with law enforcement. When agents arrived to search Bahi’s own home in July, they say he deleted an encrypted messaging app from his cell phone that he had been using to communicate with Adams.
Adams, a Democrat, denied ever telling a city employee to lie. And he has vowed to stay put as he fights for his own cause. But the investigation has roiled City Hall in recent months, prompting the resignations of the police commissioner, the school chancellor and several top advisers to Adams.
On Friday, Adams’ long-term girlfriend, Tracey Collins, stepped down from her role as a senior adviser at the Department of Education. Prosecutors say she accompanied Adams on several foreign trips that were compensated or heavily discounted by a Turkish official who sought to exploit Adams’ influence.
At a hearing last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten said prosecutors are pursue “several related investigations” and that it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged and “possible” more charges will be filed against Adams.
Adams’ trial is scheduled to begin in April.
