On Thursday, F.B.I. agents searched two houses in the Bronx owned by Winnie Greco, a close aide to Mayor Eric Adams of New York City.
The searches were part of an investigation being conducted with prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. Federal agents also executed a search warrant at the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens, as part of the investigation.
Ms. Greco, a longtime ally of Mr. Adams and director of Asian affairs at City Hall, had a medical episode during the search and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, a city official said. She will be placed on unpaid leave during the investigation.
It was not clear what the investigation was focused on or whether it was related to Mr. Adams, who has been the subject of a separate inquiry by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan over whether his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to accept illegal foreign donations.
Mr. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Here is what to know about Ms. Greco and the investigation:
Who is Winnie Greco?
Ms. Greco is part of the mayor’s inner circle and stood onstage with Mr. Adams at his inauguration in Times Square in January 2022.
She has known Mr. Adams for at least a decade, serving as his “honorary ambassador” to the Chinese community when he was Brooklyn borough president. In 2014, a nonprofit founded by Ms. Greco paid nearly $7,000 to send Mr. Adams on an 11-day trip to China, according to The New York Post. She traveled with him to China in 2017, when they were photographed meeting with local officials.
She was a prominent fund-raiser for Mr. Adams during the 2021 mayoral race as he sought to bring together a diverse coalition, including Asian American voters.
Ms. Greco joined Mr. Adams at City Hall as an adviser in his first month in office at a salary of about $100,000. She was often seen meeting with the mayor and his closest adviser, Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin, who has called Ms. Greco “my sister.”
Ms. Greco was featured in a city video in 2022 that brought attention to concerns in the Chinese community over hate crimes and language barriers for newly arrived immigrants.
In 2012, Ms. Greco founded the Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association to erect an arch in the Sunset Park neighborhood that was offered to the city by Beijing then rescinded.
As the leader of a group called the New York Sino Agricultural Sciences Organization, Ms. Greco was also involved in a business that sought to export produce to China.
Why were her houses searched by the F.B.I.?
It was not clear what the federal agents were seeking in the searches, though they were carried out by agents working with the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. That office has focused in the past on cases involving the Chinese government’s activities in the United States.
The New York City Department of Investigation opened an inquiry related to Ms. Greco last year after the mayor’s office referred a complaint to the department. Since then, Mr. Adams has distanced himself from her, telling reporters that he says hello when he sees her but does not discuss the investigation.
That investigation came after the news outlet The City reported that a volunteer for Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign had accused Ms. Greco of asking him to work for free on renovations to her home in order to secure a job in the Adams administration.
The City has also reported on Ms. Greco’s involvement in fund-raising events at the New World Mall and concerns over possible straw donations to Mr. Adams tied to the mall.
Is the mayor involved?
Mr. Adams said in a series of television interviews on Friday that he had “full confidence” in Ms. Greco and that he encouraged officials in his administration to follow the law.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat in his third year in office, said he had not been contacted by federal investigators regarding Ms. Greco.
Ethical questions have followed Mr. Adams throughout his political career, and several people from his administration and campaign fund-raising have come under investigation. Last month, a retired police inspector who was once friendly with Mr. Adams pleaded guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy, saying that he had directed straw donors to contribute to the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
Are the searches linked to the Turkey investigation?
The investigation involving Ms. Greco’s properties appeared to be separate from a federal criminal inquiry into whether Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations.
Mr. Adams started a legal-defense fund to help pay for expenses related to the Turkey investigation.
Why was a mall in Queens searched?
The New World Mall is a popular shopping center in the Flushing neighborhood in Queens in the heart of New York City’s Chinese community.
It was unclear why federal investigators searched the mall.
Mr. Adams has often visited the mall for cultural events and campaign fund-raisers were held there. He was there in February for a Lunar New Year gala.
William K. Rashbaum, Dana Rubinstein, Jeffery C. Mays and Susan C. Beachy contributed reporting.
