Eric Adams Confidant Frank Carone Arrested In Alleged Bribery Scheme

NEW YORK — Frank Carone, a longtime confidant to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested Wednesday in a bribery scheme involving his younger brother and a hotel owner, a person with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO.

Carone, who served as Adams’ first chief of staff at City Hall before launching a lobbying firm, was arrested by federal agents at his Manhattan home, said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter before prosecutors were set to unseal an indictment in Brooklyn Federal Court later Wednesday. The charges Carone is set to face include bribery and fraud.

A lawyer for Carone did not immediately return requests for comment.

The person with knowledge of the case said three other individuals were also arrested Wednesday morning: Carone’s younger brother and business partner, Anthony Carone, Yan Po Zhu, a hotel owner in Queens, and Crystal Chen, an employee of Yan.

Yan donated a combined $4,000 to Adams’ 2021 and 2025 mayoral campaigns, city records show. Chen donated $250 to Adams’ 2021 campaign, the records also show.

Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, said Carone “has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession and helping countless individuals, businesses and charitable organizations throughout New York.”

“This is an ongoing legal matter and my prayers are with his family,” Shapiro said.

The arrests come after the New York Times reported in January that Carone was facing a federal investigation related to his real estate partnership and other business dealings. As previously reported by POLITICO, federal investigators have also looked into an insurance venture co-founded by Carone.

Carone’s arrest comes after Adams’ single term as mayor was marred by corruption scandals that plunged trust in city government into historic lows. The former mayor himself was indicted on bribery, fraud and campaign finance crimes in September 2024 — a case that President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice ultimately quashed as part of a highly controversial arrangement.

In an apparently unrelated matter, federal investigators reportedly also raided the homes of several former NYPD officials close to Adams on Wednesday morning, including Jeffrey Maddrey, the former chief of department.