Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the director of New York City’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, the newest signal of escalating federal scrutiny of Mayor Eric Adams’s administration.
Molly Schaeffer, who coordinates town’s efforts to safe housing and social providers for newly arrived migrants, obtained the request to share info from federal authorities on Friday morning, in accordance with an individual acquainted with the matter. The individual spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity as a result of she was not licensed to debate the subpoena.
It was not instantly clear what info federal authorities had been in search of or whether or not the subpoena associated to a number of ongoing federal regulation enforcement investigations into Adams, a first-term Democrat and former police captain.
Schaeffer referred inquiries to the mayor’s deputy for communications, Fabien Levy, who declined to touch upon the investigation.
“We count on all crew members to totally adjust to any ongoing investigation,” Levy wrote in a textual content message. “Molly Schaeffer is an integral a part of our crew and works laborious daily to ship for New Yorkers.”
Schaeffer has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors usually difficulty subpoenas in a hunt for proof and potential witnesses, not essentially as a result of they imagine the recipient dedicated against the law.
Emailed requests to the U.S. Attorney’s workplaces in Manhattan and Brooklyn went unanswered.
In his present position, Schaeffer works carefully with one other high mayoral aide, Tim Pearson, a longtime Adams confidant who oversees contracts for brand new shelters town is constructing to accommodate asylum seekers.
Earlier this month, federal brokers seized Pearson’s telephones, together with a number of different high-level deputy mayors, together with New York City’s police commissioner, the college chancellor and two deputy mayors. The police commissioner, Edward Caban, resigned final week.
The seizures are believed to be linked to investigations overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which is inspecting whether or not relations of Adams’s high-ranking aides exploited their household connections for monetary acquire.
In July, Adams obtained his personal subpoena from federal prosecutors in search of details about him, his marketing campaign and City Hall. The request got here eight months after FBI brokers seized the mayor’s telephones and an iPad as he left an occasion in Manhattan. The subpoenas sought details about the mayor’s schedule, international journey and potential ties to the Turkish authorities, in accordance with an individual acquainted with the matter who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to debate the investigation.
Adams has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Another federal investigation, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, is believed to be trying into Adam’s Asian Affairs director, Winnie Greco.
Schaeffer has led the workplace of asylum operations since its creation final 12 months, overseeing town’s response to the arrival of greater than 200,000 migrants and the broader effort to accommodate and feed the wave of latest arrivals.
He beforehand labored for Adams’ predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio.
