Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., on Thursday announced the indictment of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a close advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, for bribery.
Lewis-Martin, her son Glenn D. Martin II, were charged with accepting more than $100,000 from real estate investors Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivdei, according to a press release.
“We allege that Ingrid Lewis-Martin engaged in a long-running bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy scheme by using her position and authority as the Chief Advisor to the Mayor of the City of New York to illegally influence Department of Buildings and other city decisions in exchange for more than $100,000 in cash and benefits for herself and her son, Glenn Martin II," Bragg said.
All of the defendants were charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree. Vaid and Dwivdei are each charged with Bribery in the First Degree. Lewis-Martin and Martin II were charged with Bribe Receiving in the First Degree and Money Laundering in the Third Degree.
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, Lewis-Martin and Martin II traded on the access and influence of her position in exchange for more than $100,000 in checks and cash from Vaid and Dwivedi. The two own Manhattan businesses and properties, including the Glass Ceiling, a rooftop bar near Herald Square, and the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side. Both had construction permits pending with the Department of Buildings at various times during the investigation, and repeatedly contacted Lewis-Martin and Martin II to expedite their applications and assist with rejected applications, according to the press release.
On numerous occasions, after receiving a request from Vaid and Dwivedi for help with DOB applications, Lewis-Martin relayed that request to the acting DOB Commissioner.
Lewis-Martin also made attempts to cover up the alleged conspiracy by asking the participants to join Signal, a third-party encrypted messaging app, noting “Please only use Signal for asks," the press release said.
“As alleged in the indictment announced today, the mayor’s Chief Advisor accepted cash and other benefits for herself and her son, in exchange for using her authority and influence to expedite her co-conspirators’ construction projects," said Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber. "When City officials monetize their office for personal gain, they undermine fundamental principles of integrity in government, diminish trust in public officials, and unfairly tarnish the reputations of the countless city employees who use their office solely to serve the public good."
Martin-Lewis resigned from her post at City Hall on Sunday.
