Eric Adams’ Deputy Mayor, Sheena Wright, Becomes 7th Senior Official To Jump Ship Amid Fraud Indictment

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Ever since New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges last month, his office has become an avalanche of staffers jumping ship amid the sandal. According to the New York Times , six senior officials had already handed in their resignations after the news broke, and on Tuesday, long-time Adams ally Sheena Wright became the seventh when she resigned as deputy mayor.

From the Times:

Ms. Wright has been replaced by Maria Torres-Springer, who was deputy mayor for housing, economic development and work force. The leadership change, which Mr. Adams announced on Tuesday during his weekly news conference at City Hall, is effective immediately, even though the timing of Ms. Wright’s exit was not made clear.

News of Ms. Wright’s departure came as Mr. Adams’s former chief liaison to Muslim New Yorkers, Mohamed Bahi , was arrested and charged with federal witness tampering and destruction of evidence, in connection with the investigation that led to the mayor’s indictment last month .

Wright’s departure comes shortly after her husband, NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, announced his plans to retire from his position at the end of the year and then sped up the timeline for his retirement to mid-October after the news on Adams’ indictment broke, according to NBC 4 New York . Wright’s brother-in-law, Philip B. Banks III, also announced his resignation from the office of deputy mayor for public safety.

Banks, whom Wright married at the end of September, told reporters that neither he nor his wife were “targets” of any investigation, and he denied that they married so they could invoke spousal privilege so neither of them would have to testify against the other.

“I think anybody that would criticize me has probably never been in love,” Banks said, NBC reported. “The reality is that Sheena and I have been together for quite some time. We’ve been planning our marriage for a while.” He  essentially said he and Wright married because it was about time, and “any suggestion otherwise to me is just ridiculous on its face.”

Likewise, Wright has also denied any wrongdoing or personal involvement in Adams’ legal debacle.

As previously reported, a federal grand jury officially indicted Adams on Sept. 25, and a 57-page indictment was released to the public and shows that Adams is being charged with bribery, fraud, and solicitation. The charges included allegations that he accepted illegal donations to his campaign in exchange for greasing the wheel for Turkey by pressuring the New York Fire Department to let the Middle Eastern nation build a high-rise building near the United Nations.

Do y’all remember when Adams was taking shots at Black Lives Matter for ignoring crime? It’s starting to feel like a little bit of projection was going on there, isn’t it?

See how social media reacted to Adams’ original indictment below.