Sixth senior member of NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is stepping down, source says
New York City First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright addresses the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York on September 20
(CNN) — Another top aide of embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams is stepping down.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who had her phones seized by federal investigators in September, is expected to resign, according to a source familiar with the plan. It is not yet known when she will resign.
Wright is the sixth senior member of Adams’ administration to step down amidst several swirling investigations. CNN has reached out to City Hall for comment.
Adams is facing five federal counts of bribery, corruption, wire fraud and soliciting and accepting donations from foreign nationals. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week and has said he did nothing wrong.
The mayor was accused in the indictment of seeking and accepting “improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him,” the indictment reads.
Additional charges against Adams are “possible” and it’s “likely” there will be additional defendants charged as part of the alleged scheme in the federal corruption case, prosecutor Hagan Scotten said Wednesday at a court hearing.
Wright’s planned exit comes just two days after the Adams administration decided to “accelerate” the departure of New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks, who was set to step down on December 31.
“Last week, I announced my planned retirement, and I was ready, willing and able to stay in my post until December 31st to conduct a responsible transition for our staff. The Mayor has decided to accelerate that timeline,” Banks said in a statement. He is now set to leave two months sooner, on October 16.
Banks, who is married to Wright, also had his phones seized as part of a separate investigation into Adams. Wright’s phone seizure was part of a separate federal investigation and not one connected to Adams, sources familiar with the investigation previously told CNN.
These moves come days after CNN reported that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told Adams to clean house and remove aides in the administration that were involved in investigations.
On Monday former senior advisor Tim Pearson, a close friend to Adams, also resigned.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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CNN’s Gregory Krieg contributed to this report
