A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been arrested on federal bribery charges tied to two alleged pay-to-play schemes, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors charged Tony Herbert, a former official in the Office of the Mayor, with soliciting and accepting cash payments in exchange for using his position to influence city decisions, according to an indictment unsealed this week.
Herbert was arrested Tuesday morning, pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and was released on a $50,000 recognizance bond. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 30.
The case is the latest in a series of corruption investigations involving people linked to the Adams administration.
ABC News reported that former Adams aide Mohamed Bahi was recently convicted in a separate illegal donations scheme and sentenced to three years of probation. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ chief adviser, has also been indicted on bribery charges; that case is ongoing.
Adams himself was indicted in 2024 on federal corruption charges and pleaded not guilty.
Two alleged schemes
In the first alleged scheme, prosecutors said Herbert solicited and received $11,000 in cash from a security company executive in exchange for pressuring city officials to award the company security contracts at public housing projects.
In the second, the indictment alleges Herbert accepted $5,000 in kickbacks from a funeral home director in exchange for approving financial assistance for burial services for low-income families.
“To prevent these schemes from coming to light, Anthony Herbert, the defendant, filed false financial disclosure forms that omitted his receipt of thousands of dollars from both the Security Company Executive and the Funeral Home Director,” the indictment said.
Prosecutors said Herbert allegedly abused positions he held from 2022 to 2025, including roles in the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit and as a citywide public housing liaison.
The indictment also quoted Herbert allegedly telling the security executive, “This is what we do, bro. This is what we do. I mean it’s, ain’t nobody gonna do it for us.”
Herbert is charged with bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion under color of official right, federal program fraud, and wire fraud.
“New Yorkers deserve honest and competent public officials,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “As alleged, at a time when Anthony Herbert was serving as City Hall’s liaison to the City’s public housing residents, he engaged in blatant pay-to-play schemes to enrich himself.”
PPP loan allegation
In addition to the bribery-related charges, prosecutors allege Herbert submitted a fraudulent loan application for a supposed baked goods business to obtain a $20,000 loan under the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program.
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I’m shocked, shocked I tell you that Democrats would be taking bribes in NYC!
But not to be outdone, the new Mayor…..
Political corruption,corruption every day, year in and year out when will it stop?