Frank Carone, the former chief of staff to ex-New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges accusing him of taking more than $100,000 in bribes to steer a multimillion-dollar migrant shelter contract to a Queens hotel.
The 13-count indictment, unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, charges Carone with money laundering, wire fraud, and bribery tied to the city’s 2022 migrant crisis, which prosecutors say he exploited for personal gain.
His brother, attorney Anthony Carone, was also charged, accused of helping funnel the bribe money through his law firm.
Hotel owner Yan Po Zhu and his employee Crystal Chen were charged as well, accused of paying Carone to win the contract for their hotel, Microtel.
According to prosecutors, the city’s Social Services Department had already rejected Microtel’s application to house migrants, citing the hotel’s small size and the number of shelters already in the area.
Zhu and Chen, who had become friendly with Carone, then asked him to intervene.
Text messages cited in the indictment show Carone repeatedly pushing city officials to reconsider, even after being told the decision had been made and the application had gone “as far as it could go.”
In one message included in the filing, Zhu wrote, “thank you, my big guy,” to Carone after asking for his help.
Other communications referenced in the indictment show city staff describing the hotel as receiving “priority” from “the top” after months of pressure from Carone. Microtel was eventually awarded the contract, worth nearly $7 million.
Defense Calls Charges Politically Motivated
All four were arrested by the FBI early Wednesday morning and arraigned that afternoon before Magistrate Judge Marcia Henry. Frank Carone was released on a $2 million bond secured by property in Boca Raton.
Anthony Carone’s bond was set at $500,000, Chen’s at $100,000, and Zhu’s at $8 million, secured in part by a Long Island property and a requirement that he wear an ankle monitor.
Carone’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, pushed back hard outside the Brooklyn courthouse, calling the indictment “not worth the paper upon which it is printed” and suggesting the case was politically motivated.
He argued there is no evidence that Carone took any specific action to influence the contract decision.
A spokesperson for Adams, Todd Shapiro, defended Carone separately, saying he “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York.”
Latest in a String of Corruption Cases Tied to Adams Administration
Carone’s indictment is the newest in a series of corruption cases connected to Adams’ time in office.
Adams himself was indicted on bribery charges in 2024 over campaign contributions allegedly tied to Turkish officials, though that case was later dropped by the Justice Department. Adams was not accused of wrongdoing in Carone’s case.
The same day Carone was charged, federal agents also searched the homes of current and former NYPD leaders in a separate, unrelated bribery investigation connected to former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.
All four defendants in the Carone case had to surrender their passports and agree to travel restrictions. They are due back in court on July 1.
