More evidence of unseemly ties between Mayor Adams and Chief of Staff Carone (who wound up working on Site 5 litigation)

It's worth cataloging the mounting evidence of shadiness, if not illegality, around the relationship between Mayor Eric Adams and his chief of staff, Frank Carone, long a key ally while Adams was Brooklyn Borough President. 

Remember, Carone represented the scofflaw nightclub Woodland, which Adams defended to the hilt. He and his firm also represented Forest City, developer of big-box stores at Site 5, in its battle, now resolved, with P.C. Richard, which claimed it was promised space in the future tower across from the arena.

A Times scoop

In a thorough and damning investigation, As Adams Praised a New Police Tool, a Close Ally Had a Stake in the Maker, the New York Times reported 5/18/22 that BolaWrap, a Kevlar tether that immobilizes suspect, was boosted by the Borough President multiple times:

What was not widely known as Mr. Adams lauded the device was that his friend, political benefactor and current chief of staff, Frank Carone, had a significant financial stake in the company that makes it. Indeed, Mr. Carone more than doubled his investment within two weeks of Mr. Adams’s endorsement at Borough Hall.

Carone earned 47% in profits on his $980,000 investment.

He claimed to never have talked about the product with Adams, “You’re right to ask these questions," he told the Times. "It is very coincidental. I get all that. But my life has been that way.”

But even as Adams praised the product, and got contributions from company staffers, the NYPD concluded that it didn't work. Even though the company behind the product improved it, the Police Department again rejected it.

An Adams defense

Politico later that day reported Adams defends chief of staff over potential ethics issues with former clients. That's not BolaWrap-related, but also telling:

“Frank was a reasonably successful attorney,” Adams told reporters at an unrelated City Hall press conference, arguing that it was therefore inevitable he would have represented clients interested in influencing city government. “I’m happy that he’s operating as a professional. Frank has gone beyond the call of duty when it comes to recusing himself. He’s doing what is supposed to be done. We are extra careful.”

December 2021: NYDN on concert loan

I missed this 12/5/21 article in the New York Daily News by Nathan Tempey and Michael Gartland, Brooklyn power broker’s no-interest loan bailed out Eric Adams music showcase ahead of mayoral run:

Brooklyn power broker in the running for a job in Eric Adams’ new administration had his law firm make a $50,000 no-interest loan to save a summer concert series closely tied to the mayor-elect, emails obtained by the Daily News reveal.

Frank Carone, a lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party and partner at the politically connected Abrams Fensterman law firm, has served as both Adams’ lawyer and fund-raiser. 

The reporting, based on a Freedom of Information Law request, describes how Carone and his firm helped save the Wingate Concert Series, which features R&B and soul music, aimed at a mostly Black  audience, boosting the image of the host Borough President, starting with Marty Markowitz.

The nonprofit organization Make Music New York's "expenses shot up by $300,000"--unclear why (booking fees?).

So Adams deputy Ingrid Lewis-Martin put Make Music in touch with Carone.

It was legal, if not terribly ethical, since, as the article stated, "Carone regularly reached out on behalf of developers looking to get violations lifted and permits approved."