A key witness in the federal indictment against Adams, Rana Abbasova, was also fired Monday.
By Katie Honan, and Yoav Gonen
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- The Roosevelt Island Daily News
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Winnie Greco, a longtime aide to Mayor Eric Adams whose homes were raided by federal authorities earlier this year, resigned from her post on Monday, her lawyer confirmed to THE CITY.
Attorney Steven Brill, told THE CITY “she officially resigned today on her own volition.” He added that it was her choice to leave and said he didn’t know of any pressure from City Hall to get her out.
Greco, Adams’ lead liaison to the city’s Asian communities, had her Bronx homes raided by the FBI in February along with an Adams campaign office where she had worked at a Queens mall, months after THE CITY and Documented reported on suspicious campaign donations there.
Two other Adams community liaisons also left Monday: Rana Abbasova, was fired Monday, and Mohamed Bahi, who resigned, a City Hall spokesperson confirmed.
All three departures were first reported by NBC 4 New York and Politico Abbasova is a key cooperating witness in the federal case against Adams, who is alleged to have taken illegal foreign campaign donations, participated in a scheme to bilk the city’s campaign finance matching funds program and taken flight upgrades in exchange for favors to the Turkish government.
Abbasova was a staffer in the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and has been on leave since feds raided her home last November.
Greco first began working for Adams a decade ago when he was Brooklyn Borough President as a high-profile volunteer “ambassador.” She steered the mayor’s relationship to the borough’s Chinese community, advising him on which events to attend, bringing him delegations of officials from China, and traveling with him around the world, including multiple trips to China.
She simultaneously co-founded and led a nonprofit organization committed to building a “friendship archway” between Beijing and Brooklyn in the borough’s Sunset Park neighborhood, pledging that a Beijing borough government would pay for the arch. She nonetheless set out to raise money locally for the effort, which was strongly supported by Adams.
Greco was also omnipresent during Adams’ 2021 campaign for mayor and critical to raising substantial sums for his campaign from within the Chinese community. As part of those efforts, she connected Adams to supporters who in turn unleashed dozens of small donations from employees that tapped the city’s public campaign matching funds program, which provides $8 for every $1 contributed by city residents up to the first $250.
Dozens gave $249 — and some listed as donors told THE CITY and Documented that they either did not give or were reimbursed by managers, which is illegal.
During the campaign she also provided crucial advice on navigating communities of Asian voters, prompting Adams to flip his position and endorse retaining entrance exams at the city’s elite high schools.
Greco stood close to Adams as he was sworn in as mayor in the first minutes of 2022 in Times Square, and came into his administration, starting at $100,000 a year, as a liaison to the Asian American community. In her first two years she hosted Gracie Mansion events and appeared at town halls — but also misused her post, according to some people who crossed paths with her.
THE CITY reported that Greco allegedly demanded $10,000 to her archway nonprofit as the price of admission to a Chinese-themed event with Adams at Gracie Mansion. And a campaign volunteer told THE CITY that she promised to help him get a city job if he also promised to help with her home renovations, then once he was hired continued to compel him to assist her with construction-related tasks and other personal business while on the job.
She also stayed for months in a Queens hotel that was under city contract to house former Rikers Island inmates, as THE CITY reported. The mayor’s press office and an attorney for the hotel owners claimed that Greco paid for her hotel stay but did not provide evidence.
The city Department of Investigation opened a probe after THE CITY’s reporting. Following the federal raids on her two homes Feb. 29, Greco was hospitalized in the wake of a “medical episode,” City Hall officials said. She was then on leave until May, when she returned to work in a different role with the Community Affairs Unit — enjoying a significant salary increase that had taken effect months earlier.
She continued to work in her new role and even attended the Korean Parade in Midtown on Saturday – but did not end up marching in the parade after running from a reporter from THE CITY.
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