New York — Prosecutors have charged a top aide to the former New York City mayor Eric Adams By accepting diamond earrings from two real estate developers, they then pressured city regulators to speed up their construction projects, despite safety concerns.
In court papers filed Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors provided new details about… One of many bribery schemes They say it was carried out by Ingrid Lewis Martin, an Adams confidant who was once the second most powerful person in city government.
She resigned in late 2024 shortly before She and her son They are accused of collecting more than $100,000 in bribes from the developers, Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi. All four pleaded not guilty.
Then Luis Martin was injured A separate set of bribery charges In August, she allegedly traded political favors — including canceling a bike plan and steering shelter contracts toward a favored developer — for money, home renovations and even a speaking role on the TV show “The Godfather of Harlem.” She also pleaded not guilty to these charges.
Lois Martin’s attorney maintained she was merely helping her constituents cut through red tape.
The latest filing expands on the initial charges against Lois Martin and her son Glenn D. Martin II, who performs under the stage name DJ Suave Luciano.
Shortly after meeting with Vaid and Dwivedi in 2022, Louis Martin received a set of 2-carat diamond earrings worth about $3,000 from the developers, according to the new court filing.
Prosecutors alleged that Luis Martin then pressured city regulators to speed up approvals for developers’ projects. In one case, she urged the acting commissioner of the Department of Buildings to approve a proposed renovation of a Manhattan hotel owned by Fayed, despite “legitimate safety concerns” raised by building inspectors, prosecutors said.
After city regulators agreed to expedite the application, Lois Martin sent a text message to her son indicating that Fayed would cover it all. Your fashion line is 100 percent, according to the court filing. Prosecutors said Fayed also promised to help Martin II open a Chick-fil-A franchise.
In an email, Luis Martin’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, criticized the length of the recording, without addressing its substance.
“We look forward to filing our forceful response to the Attorney General’s desperate 170-page answer to our motion to dismiss,” Aidala said. “It’s the longest answer to a motion we’ve ever seen and speaks volumes about the insecurity of their case.”
Queries made to lawyers for Martin II, Vaid and Dwivedi were not answered.
The case against Louis Martin, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, first came to light over a period of time Overlapping scandals Adams administration. It has nothing to do with Adams’ indictment on federal corruption charges, which was It was rejected Last year by the Ministry of Justice. Adams is not accused of any wrongdoing in the Lewis Martin case.
A spokesman for Adams did not respond to an inquiry about the recent allegations against Louis Martin.