Terence Banks, the brother of two prime metropolis officers who’s a goal in a wide-ranging federal probe, is an previous household buddy of Mayor Eric Adams, it was revealed Tuesday.
“Terence Banks’ household, the dad was one in all my lieutenants and a mentor,” Adams mentioned throughout a digital press convention from Gracie Mansion, the place he’s recuperating from a recently-announced COVID an infection.
“I’ve identified the Banks households for years,” the mayor continued. “And my realizing somebody, I maintain them to the identical customary that I maintain myself to. However I’ve identified the household for an extended time frame.”
Terence is the youthful brother of Deputy Mayor for Public Security Phil Banks and Colleges Chancellor David Banks, each of whom have been appointed by Adams and likewise raided by the feds final week, based on law-enforcement sources.
A former MTA official who retired in 2023 after 25 years on the job, Terence Banks extra not too long ago appeared to work as a guide, however scrubbed the web site for his enterprise, The Pearl Alliance, after the feds raided his residence.
A number of shoppers purportedly represented by Banks — who shouldn’t be a registered lobbyist — had tens of millions of {dollars}’ price of contracts with the town, based on public information.
Sources mentioned investigators, out of the Southern District of New York, are investigating corruption and affect peddling. They’re mentioned to be wanting into whether or not Phil Banks had a hand in steering metropolis contracts to his brother’s shoppers, based on the sources.
The connection to Adams seems to increase past familial ties.
Terence Banks reportedly raised mountains of money for Hizzoner’s marketing campaign, based on Gothamist.
He hosted 5 occasions that collected practically 250 donations price slightly below $92,000 — all of which went straight into Adams’ marketing campaign coffers for his 2021 mayoral run, the outlet mentioned.
A few of these have been later flagged by a marketing campaign watchdog as unreported, in-kind donations, Gothamist added.
The Banks brothers have been amongst these thrust into the highlight following a sequence of gorgeous federal raids final week through which brokers confirmed up on the houses of a number of of Adams’ prime lieutenants and political allies with warrants, demanding digital gadgets and different proof.
Additionally raided have been Police Commissioner Edward Caban and his twin brother, James Caban, an ex-cop with a checkered previous who allegedly labored as a “fixer” for troubled nightclubs who have been having issues with the police, based on sources.
“I don’t know James Caban that nicely,” Adams mentioned in the course of the briefing. “I do know he’s the brother of the police commissioner, and we trade pleasantries once we see one another, as I do with everybody.”
Nobody has been charged with any crime. Neither the Banks nor Caban brothers have returned repeated requests for remark.
Timothy D. Sini, a lawyer for Terence Banks, advised the New York Instances in a press release Tuesday: “We have now been assured by the federal government that Mr. Banks shouldn’t be a goal of this investigation.”
Phil Banks lawyer Benjamin Brafman advised the Instances he believes his consumer: “has zero prison legal responsibility on this case — zero.”
David Banks confirmed he was “cooperating with a federal inquiry” in a press release Friday, however mentioned he couldn’t remark additional.
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