Steiner Studios Bribe Killed McGuinness Avenue Street Safety Upgrades, Indictments Allege

by Ethan Stark-Miller, amNY

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 August 21. Lewis-Martin surrendered early Thursday morning to the Manhattan DA’s office at One Hogan Place.

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, the promise of a TV acting role, and thousands of dollars in meals.

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

While Mayor Adams himself is not implicated in the indictments, they involve how his former closest confidant allegedly leveraging myriad city government decisions to enrich herself and her son. The charges could further hinder Adams’ already steep uphill 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. The new charges are not connected to Lewis-Martin’s already existing 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.

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

City Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Services Jesse Hamilton is facing one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and the other six defendants — including developer Tian Ji Li and Gina and Tony Argento, the siblings who run Broadway Stages studio in Greenpoint — are charged with one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and one count of bribery in the second degree.

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.”

Arthur Aidala said on Thursday after her indictment was announced that “Ingrid Lewis-Martin 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.”

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

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

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• Mayor Eric Adams Accused of Fraud, Bribery
• Mayor Eric Adams Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges

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