On Thursday, authorities indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams with five federal public corruption charges, including bribery and wire fraud. The indictment was the culmination of years of investigative interest against Adams and his associates, with multiple phone seizures and property searches over the years.
The newly unsealed indictment also shows that Adams allegedly changed his phone password during this time, and then told investigators he had forgotten the password and so would be unable to provide it to the FBI.
Last November, FBI agents seized multiple cellphones from Adams, but at the time Adams was not carrying his personal cellphone, the indictment says. The next day, Adams produced the device in response to a subpoena, and the phone was locked, it adds.