‘Classic bribery’: Former Adams aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin, power brokers at center of alleged pay-to-play schemes indicted

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday hit Mayor Eric Adams’ former chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin with a slew of fresh corruption charges, accusing her and her son of accepting $75,000 worth of benefits in exchange for official favors.

Bragg’s office — along with the city Department of Investigation — charged Lewis-Martin, her son Glenn Martin II, otherwise known as Suave or Suave Luciano, and seven others in four separate indictments on Aug. 21. Lewis-Martin surrendered early Thursday morning to the Manhattan DA’s office at One Hogan Place and pleaded not guilty at her 11:30 a.m. arraignment at the New York County Criminal Courthouse at 100 Centre St.

Broadly, Lewis-Martin is accused of using her senior City Hall position between 2022 and 2024 to grease the wheels of city government — such as steering city contracts to preferred vendors and killing a street safety project, in exchange for benefits including cash, a TV acting role, and thousands of dollars worth of lavish meal catering.

Lewis-Martin is also accused of overriding the expertise of city officials to benefit her alleged co-conspirators.

Glenn Martiin II, son of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, was indicted in an allegedly pay-to-play scheme with his mother. He is escorted by detectives in handcuffs at New York County Criminal Court on Aug. 21, 2025.

While Mayor Adams himself is not implicated in the indictments, they involve his former closest confidant allegedly leveraging myriad city government decisions to enrich herself and her son. The charges could further hinder Adams’ already steep reelection battle, in which he has tried to distance himself from several past corruption scandals in his administration, including his own now-dismissed federal case.

The charges against Lewis-Martin include four counts of fourth-degree conspiracy and four counts of second-degree bribe-receiving.  They are not connected to Lewis-Martin’s still-pending bribery and conspiracy indictment that was filed late last year, in which she is accused of allegedly accepting $100,000 in bribes from a pair of Manhattan businessmen to buy a Porsche for her son. She resigned from the administration last December, shortly before that indictment came down.

Martin II is charged with two counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree and two counts of second-degree bribe-receiving.

City official, power brokers also indicted with Lewis-Martin

Seven other alleged co-conspirators also found themselves on the wrong end of Thursday’s indictments.

City Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Services Jesse Hamilton is facing one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree. The other six defendants — including power broker Tian Ji Li, developer Yechiel Landau, and siblings Gina and Tony Argento, owners of the influential Broadway Stages studios — are each charged with one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and one count of bribery in the second degree.

They all pleaded “not guilty” as well at Thursday’s arraignment hearings.

The Argentos’ attorney, John Ciafone, defended his clients Thursday, saying they “did nothing but exercise their First Amendment rights,” which protect free speech, assembly, petition and the press.

Ciafone believes the indictment is likely to be thrown out, and chalked a $2,500 payment that Gina Argento made to Lewis-Martin as “a donation.”

“Broadway Stages, Gina and Tony do a lot of good deeds, a lot of donations,” he said. “And this is their punishment. To try to attribute good deeds to an allegation of bribery is horrendous. And we’re going to knock it out.”

A ‘classic bribery’ scheme, Bragg alleges

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a former senior aide to Mayor Eric Adams, is escorted by detectives in handcuffs at New York County Criminal Court on Aug. 21, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses

Bragg, in a statement, said his office alleges that Lewis-Martin engaged in “classic bribery conspiracies” that had a “deep and wide-ranging impact” on city government.

“As alleged, Lewis-Martin consistently overrode the expertise of public servants so she could line her own pockets,” Bragg said. “While she allegedly received more than $75,000 in bribes and an appearance on a TV show, every other New Yorker lost out. Hardworking City employees were undermined, businesses and developers who followed the law were pushed aside, and the public was victimized by corruption at the highest levels of government.”

Lewis-Martin’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said on Thursday after her indictment was announced that she is “facing charges classified at the lowest level of felony in our justice system.” He sought to paint the new charges as politically motivated.

“Her only so-called ‘offense’ was fulfilling her duty—helping fellow citizens navigate the city’s outdated and often overwhelming bureaucracy. At no point did she receive a single dollar or any personal benefit for her assistance,” Aidala added. “Yet, the District Attorney seeks to portray a dedicated and honest public servant as a criminal. This is not justice—it is a distortion of the truth and a troubling example of politically motivated ‘lawfare.’ We will vigorously fight these charges and ensure that the facts prevail.”

Hamilton’s lawyer, Mark Pullard, said his client entered a “not guilty” plea and similarly denied the charges.

“These allegations do not reflect who he is, what he stands for, or the record of service he has built over decades,” Pullard said in a statement. “We are confident that when the facts are brought to light, it will be clear that he has committed no wrongdoing.”

Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Services Jesse Hamilton, who was indicted on corruption charges and resigned on Thursday.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Later on Thursday afternoon, Pullard informed amNewYork that Hamilton is stepping down from his post.

Standing by his former aide

Mayor Adams, in a Thursday statement, said that he had not been accused of any wrongdoing and defended Lewis-Martin, while noting she no longer works for the administration.

“She has been a friend and colleague for over 40 years, and I know her as a devoted public servant; she has declared her innocence, and my prayers are with her and her family,” Adams said.

“I also recognize that Jesse Hamilton has pleaded not guilty, and like anyone accused, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” he said of Hamilton.

Migrant contracts & karaoke club

Each of Lewis-Martin’s four indictments involves separate pay-to-play schemes that she allegedly engaged in during her tenure at City Hall.

One surrounds Lewis-Martin, allegedly working with Ji Li, who is reportedly a power broker within the city’s Chinese community, to direct migrant services contracts to several vendors that he identified. Li allegedly received 10% of the amounts of the contracts the city inked with the property owners he recommended.

For instance, the indictment alleges that in February 2023, city Health + Hospitals (H+H) entered into a $12 million migrant services contract with a hotel owner identified as “property owner 1.” They allegedly then paid Li 10% of the contract amount — $1.2 million.

In August 2023, Li allegedly wired $52,000 of that amount to his karaoke club “V SHOW,” which 20 minutes later, then sent $50,000 to a business account belonging to Martin II.

The next year, Lewis-Martin allegedly pushed for having that contract renewed and for inking a separate one for another of Property Owner 1’s hotels. Her effort included allegedly pressuring officials across several agencies, including Hamilton.

“I want you all to go back to the sites for TJ Li,” Lewis-Martin allegedly told Hamilton on a call in May 2024. “I need those done…whatever site TJ wants, I need him to get them. Because that’s our f**king people.”

The indictment also alleges that Lewis-Martin successfully expedited city Fire Department and Department of Buildings (DOB) approvals for V SHOW from 2022 through its opening in fall 2023. One of those approvals allegedly came in August 2023, just days before V SHOW wired $50,000 to Martin II’s account.

The McGuinness Redesign

The second indictment alleges that the Argentos, a pair of powerful siblings who hold great sway in north Brooklyn, allegedly bribed Lewis-Martin to scuttle the redesign of McGuinness Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare that runs past their studio, Broadway Stages, in Greenpoint.

Starting in 2022, the indictment alleges that Lewis-Martin was in regular communication with the Argentos and agreed to push their concerns — they were opposed to removing any vehicle traffic lanes — with the Department of Transportation, and insisted she be part of any DOT meetings about McGuinness Boulevard.

In exchange, the Argentos allegedly gave Lewis-Martin a speaking role on the show “Godfather of Harlem,” which is filmed at Broadway Stages. She was paid $800 for the appearance, which also allowed her to apply for membership with the Screen Actors Guild.

Gina Argento leaves a New York County Criminal Courtroom on Aug. 21, 2025 after arraignment on charges in a pay-to-play scheme involving former Mayor Eric Adams’ aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin.Photo by Dean Moses

Tony Argento, indicted in an allegedly pay-to-play scheme with Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is escorted by detectives in handcuffs at New York County Criminal Court on Aug. 21, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses

In June 2023, after receiving a $2,500 payment from Gina, Lewis-Martin allegedly encouraged Mayor Adams to adopt an alternative design that had been discussed with the Argentos. The following month, Adams suddenly ordered DOT to reverse course on the initial redesign, which had just been approved.

Gina also allegedly paid $10,000 for catering services at an event Lewis-Martin hosted at Gracie Mansion in 2024. Tony, the indictment reads, had also promised to serve as Lewis-Martin’s “agent” and get her future television roles.

Housing renovations

The third indictment alleges that Lewis-Martin and Hamilton used their positions to intervene with the city Departments of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) on behalf of real estate projects owned by developer Landau. In exchange, Landau allegedly paid for $5,000 worth of renovations to a property Lewis-Martin owns and to Hamilton’s home.

The projects in question are located in Red Hook, Brooklyn; the Bronx; and Jamaica, Queens.

For example, Lewis-Martin allegedly worked to speed up approvals for the Red Hook project by repeatedly asking former Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, referred to in the indictment as “the Deputy Mayor,” and former HPD Commissioner and now Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión Jr. for its status and giving Landau direct access to them. She allegedly pushed them to have the project completed by Landau’s desired December 2024 date.

Lewis-Martin even went so far as to speak directly with Landau and his consultant about the project without Torres-Springer or HPD involved.

“We’re gonna, we gotta get that place [HPD] under control, so when we f**king tell them something, we expect them to make that s#!t move,” she allegedly said. “I’m gonna speak to the Mayor, and then that’s it, so we’re just gonna push for December [2024] and we’re gonna keep it going.”

Another alleged instance that specifically involved Hamilton surrounded a building in Jamaica owned by Landau’s business partners. At Landau’s behest, Lewis-Martin allegedly instructed Hamilton to work with Landau and his business partners to obtain a city leasing agreement to use the building as a migrant shelter.

Meals for deals

In the fourth and final indictment announced Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors accused Lewis-Martin of conspiring with an unnamed Brooklyn businessman to exchange her influence at the DOB for free catering at Gracie Mansion and City Hall.

Prosecutors say that between December 2023 and August 2024, she repeatedly pressed the DOB commissioner to smooth approvals for the businessman’s renovation projects, while his company provided thousands of dollars’ worth of food for city events.

It is alleged that Lewis-Martin connected the businessman directly to DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo, urged that a plan examiner be removed from his case, and followed up on approvals.

In a January 2024 call, she allegedly told him, “I spoke with the Buildings Commissioner yesterday. I told him you’re a friend and you have an issue.” Weeks later, after the department reassigned the examiner, she checked in: “I just wanna know if it’s getting better.”

On Feb. 26, 2024, according to the indictment, she told the businessman, “I wanna have your organization vetted so if you wanna have food, um, we can get some food from you.” That spring, he supplied about $2,000 in food for an April 4 Gracie Mansion reception, after which Lewis-Martin called to say, “You outdid yourself … I’m eating one of your crab cakes as I speak to you.”

She allegedly made repeated last-minute requests. In a May 8, 2024, text, Lewis-Martin wrote, “Grand Rising … Call you in a bit. Need last-minute assistance,” before phoning to ask for food for 125 guests at another Gracie Mansion event.

In a phone call on May 18, the businessman allegedly told Lewis-Martin that he wanted to add a staircase to the attic at his home, “which they [The DOB] don’t wanna give me.” During the same call, Lewis-Martin allegedly replied, “Send it to me. Send me the stuff, and then we have the guy look at it.”

In June, she texted that she would “call you tomorrow for some food for CH [City Hall],” leading to an order for about 40 people. On June 18, the businessman catered provided free food worth approximately $500 for an event at City Hall. Lewis-Martin had texted him the day prior, saying, “Please mark my name on the seafood salad.”

The businessman’s largest delivery, prosecutors said, came on Aug. 17, 2024, when his company provided roughly $5,000 worth of food for a Gracie Mansion event. The next day, Lewis-Martin called to thank him and to discuss when he or his architect should next contact the Buildings Department about his applications.