‘This was no payoff’: Mayor Adams campaign aide suspended after giving reporter cash in potato chip bag

A longtime aide to Mayor Eric Adams has been suspended from his reelection campaign after she handed a reporter a bag of potato chips containing an envelope stuffed with cash on Wednesday.

Winnie Greco, Adams’ former director of Asian affairs, gave the bag to Katie Honan, a reporter for THE CITY, following the opening of the mayor’s Harlem campaign office on Aug. 20, the outlet reported.

Honan later discovered the red envelope filled with bills and tried to return it, but said Greco never responded. Greco later apologized, telling THE CITY the cash was meant as a cultural gesture and not a bribe.

“This was no payoff. This was no bag of cash in a dark alley. Any insinuation that this gift had a nefarious intent to influence this reporter or her coverage is misinterpreted and ridiculous,” Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill, said in a statement.

“Once Winnie was informed by this reporter that she could not accept it, Winnie apologized and asked for the traditional gift to be returned,” Brill added, saying that while it “looks odd” in retrospect, “if one understood Winnie‘s generosity, and her sincere dedication to the Chinese culture, it would make more sense and have less of a negative connotation.”

Latest in Adams inner circle’s ethical woes

The episode adds to a growing list of legal and ethical troubles surrounding Adams’ inner circle. On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed fresh corruption charges against his former chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, accusing her and her son of accepting $75,000 worth of benefits in exchange for official favors.

After being contacted by THE CITY about the exchange, the Adams campaign immediately suspended Greco from volunteer duties and stressed that the mayor did not know about the incident.

“We are shocked by these reports,” said Todd Shapiro, spokesperson for Mayor Adams’ reelection campaign. “Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer campaign-related activities.”

According to THE CITY, reporter Katie Honan observed at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills inside the envelope. She turned it over to her editors, who contacted the city Department of Investigation. The publication said it did not open the envelope or count the money inside in anticipation of “possible law enforcement investigations.”

DOI spokesperson Diane Struzzi confirmed Thursday the agency had received allegations and declined further comment.

Greco has been the subject of previous DOI investigations for allegedly using her government role for personal benefit.

The probe, opened November 2023, following a report by THE CITY, focuses on claims that she recruited an Adams campaign volunteer to do unpaid renovations on her Bronx home to secure a City Hall job and asked a business leader to contribute $10,000 to a nonprofit she led to attend a Gracie Mansion event.

The DOI declined to comment on whether the probe is still ongoing. Greco’s attorney noted that he has never been contacted by the DOI “either when Winnie was employed by the City and since she resigned.”

Greco has been a longtime ally of Adams, dating back to his tenure as Brooklyn borough presidentPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell

Richard Kim, THE CITY’s editor, called the attempted gift “deeply disturbing.”

“The fact that one of Mayor Adams’ closest, longtime advisors would attempt to ingratiate herself to any reporter, much less Katie Honan, with a cash gift is deeply disturbing and speaks to a rampant and blatant disregard for the role of a free and fair press,” Kim said.

Honan added: “As a reporter, I want information, not cash.”

Greco has been a longtime ally of Adams, dating back to his tenure as Brooklyn borough president, when she served as a volunteer liaison to the Chinese-American community and as an unpaid campaign fundraiser.

Wednesday’s suspension is the latest controversy involving the aide.

In February 2024, the FBI searched her Bronx home as part of a probe into whether Adams’ 2021 campaign illegally coordinated with the Turkish government to generate donations. She resigned from City Hall that October before reemerging as a volunteer on Adams’ reelection campaign this year.