The former longtime advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on Thursday (Aug. 21) along with six others in an expansion of a corruption probe that has dogged Adams’ administration for the last two years. For Lewis-Martin, it marks the second time she’s been indicted – she and her son, Glenn D. Martin II, were indicted in a separate case involving corruption last December.
“If you were willing to pay, Ms. Lewis-Martin was open for business,” said prosecutor Guy Tardanico during opening statements. She and her son were hit with four charges of corruption and bribery. These include instances where the former chief of staff helped out siblings Gina and Anthony Argento, the owners of film and TV production company Broadway Stages, by intervening to stop a bike lane renovation on McGuiness Boulevard in Brooklyn near their studio. In return, Lewis-Martin was given perks such as cash as well as a speaking role in an episode of the MGM+ TV show Godfather of Harlem.
Lewis-Martin is also accused of steering shelter deals worth millions of dollars towards developer Tian Ji Li, who was a major donor for Adams’ mayoral campaign in 2021, using her son as a go-between. Department of Citywide Administrative Services Deputy Commissioner Jesse Hamilton, who was in charge of city leases, and developer Yechiel Landau were also indicted. Lewis-Martin would use her influence with Hamilton to push projects forward repeatedly, often in text messages and phone calls laced with profanity. “Can you make sure that when I’m sending you a f—-g site, [an unidentified city staffer] finds the site I f—-g send you,” she reportedly said to Hamilton in one call.
Other gifts that Lewis-Martin finagled were $5,000 worth of renovations to her home paid by Landau in exchange for easing the way forward for his building projects in the Bronx and Brooklyn, and free catering for Gracie Mansion events. She and the other defendants were released after the hearing without bail. Hamilton would resign his position later that afternoon.
The indictments cast another huge shadow on Mayor Adams as he runs for reelection in November as an independent. It comes a day after another former aide, Winnie Greco, was busted for handing THE CITY reporter Katie Honan cash secreted inside a bag of Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion ripple potato chips. The incident led to Greco being suspended from her volunteer role with Adams’ reelection campaign.
