A former colleague of New York City mayor Eric Adams has accepted a plea deal to admit guilt in a scheme to organize illegal donations to Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign.
Dwayne Montgomery, who served on the New York City Police Department with Mr. Adams, was one of six people that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged in July in a scheme to facilitate illegal campaign donations to the Adams campaign.
Mr. Montgomery, the other defendants, and a management company called EcoSafety Consultants Inc., were all charged with a fifth-degree conspiracy charge, and third-degree attempted grand larceny. Mr. Montgomery was further charged on multiple first-degree counts of offering false instruments for campaign donations, and multiple first-degree counts of attempting to offer false instruments.
The July indictment notes New York City employs a campaign donations matching system, wherein donations of up to $250 from city residents are matched eight to one with city tax dollars. According to the indictment, Mr. Montgomery and the other conspirators arranged for straw donors to send in campaign donations and coordinated to reimburse these straw donors. They allegedly discussed ways to structure these straw donations to avoid campaign contribution limits and qualify for the eight-to-one benefit of matching public funds.
Mr. Montgomery entered into a plea agreement on Thursday, Feb. 1, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by Politico. The deal stipulates that Mr. Montgomery accepts the fifth-degree conspiracy charge, and admits to conspiring to arrange illegal campaign donations through straw donors and to reimburse the straw donors.
The plea agreement stipulates that the charge to which Mr. Montgomery is admitting guilt carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail.
In return for his guilty plea, Mr. Bragg’s office is recommending that Mr. Montgomery face no jail time. Instead, Mr. Bragg’s office requests that Mr. Montgomery be ordered to pay a $500 fine and complete 200 hours of community service through BKLYN Combine, which is described by Mr. Bragg’s office as “a community-based organization that provides educational, leadership, and social support programs to teens and young adults in African-American communities throughout New York City.”
In addition to the fine and community service, the plea agreement states that Mr. Montgomery shall not “organize or host any political fundraiser and shall not solicit contributions on behalf of any campaign for elected office or deliver contributions by any other individual to any campaign for elected office for a one-year period.”
The deal stipulates that if Mr. Montgomery fails to comply with the terms of the plea deal, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office may seek any lawful sentence in connection with conspiracy charge he admitted to, including the 364-day jail term, and the Court “may impose that sentence in the absence of the Defendant.”
Adams Campaign Scrutinized by FBI
Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign has been at the center of another probe, this one conducted by federal investigators.
In November, FBI agents raided the home of one of Mr. Adams’s chief political consultants, Brianna Suggs. Days later, FBI agents seized phones and an iPad belonging to Mr. Adams.
The New York Times reported at the time that the FBI visits were tied to potential illicit ties between the 2021 Adams campaign team and the Turkish government.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice did not offer a public comment about the case involving Mr. Adams or Ms. Suggs, and Mr. Adams has denied any wrongdoing.
“After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly. In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators. The Mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter,” Mr. Adams’s campaign attorney Boyd Johnson said in a November statement.
Mr. Johnson said the his client immediately complied with an FBI request and provided requested electronic devices.
“The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation,” Mr. Johnson added.
Mr. Adams subsequently said any interactions he may have had with Turkish government officials arose from his time serving as the elected president of New York’s Brooklyn borough and were part of his “basic duties” at the time.