The scandal within current New York City Mayor Eric Adams as his current — and past — staff continues to snowball.
Now a former aide to Adams has been arrested and charged with a serious crime.
Mohamed Bahi, a former official for Adams, was charged by federal prosecutors Tuesday with alleged witness tampering and destruction of evidence in relation to an investigation into the mayor’s 2021 mayoral campaign, according to a Daily Caller Report.
According to the report, the Southern District of New York (SDNY) accused Bahi, the former chief liaison to the Muslim community, of having “used intimidation, threatened, and corruptly persuaded another person” to interfere with an FBI investigation into straw donations sent to Adams’ mayoral campaign.
Bahi is charged with one count of witness tampering and one count of destruction of records, according to a complaint against the defendant.
The report noted other charging documents that stated Bahi allegedly instructed others to lie to federal investigators and deleted evidence from his personal devices that may have suggested he was involved in a crime.
“The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee,” U.S. attorney for the Southern District in New York Damien Williams said, according to an SDNY press release. “Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering.”
Bahi allegedly orchestrated straw donations funneled through a Brooklyn construction company in December 2020, which went to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, according to the SDNY press release. Bahi allegedly urged the owner of the company and the four donors to continue to lie to federal agents after their donations came under suspicion by the FBI in June.
This is an on-going story. Check back for further developments.