Winnie Greco, former Adams campaign adviser, allegedly handed journalist cash stuffed in potato chip bag
Just when you think the New York City mayor's race can't get much stranger, it's now all that and a bag of chips - literally.
Former City Hall adviser Winnie Greco allegedly handed journalist Katie Honan a red envelope of cash stuffed into a potato chip bag following an Eric Adams re-election campaign event Wednesday in Harlem.
Greco, Adams' former director of Asian affairs, resigned from City Hall last year after the FBI raided her home during his corruption case.
Honan is a journalist for the website The City.
A spokesman for the mayor's reelection campaign said Adams was shocked to hear about what happened and that Greco "holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer campaign-related activities."
Alleged potato chip bag cash handoff
A red envelope Honan found inside the bag of chips had about $300 in it, Greco's attorney Steven Brill said.
"She repeated she wanted us to be friends, and she was interested in friendship," Honan said.
Honan said Greco summoned her across the street, they chatted for a bit, and Greco insisted she take the chip bag for the road. Honan said she opened it after they parted ways.
"I looked in and saw this red envelope, which I sort of hoped would be some sort of tip - not monetary, but information on the mayor or something - what every reporter wants. And that's when I saw it was money, and I panicked," Honan said.
Honan said she immediately called her editor.
"I called my editor, and then I called [Greco] and said 'I need to give this back to you. I cannot take it.' And she said OK, no, no, no, we can meet later. But I really made it clear to her that this was very serious, that I really could not take this at all, and that it was serious that she gave this to me," Honan said.
Honan says she quickly notified the Adams campaign and the Department of Investigation.
"As a reporter, I want information, not cash," Honan said.
"This incident has been blown out of proportion," Brill said.
"In Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude and that's all that was done here. Winnie's intention was born purely out of kindness," Brill went on to say. "Any nefarious implication is unimaginable to me."
So if it was an innocent gesture of friendship, why put the cash in a potato chip bag?
"I think they were eating chips. I think Winnie offered her chips at the time," Brill said.
Honan has scrutinized Greco's conduct in the past as a major fundraiser with Adams within the Chinese community.
The City said it interviewed Greco later Wednesday and she apologized, saying she made "a mistake."
"The fact that one of Mayor Adams' closest, longtime advisors would attempt to ingratiate herself to any reporter, much less Katie Honan, with a cash gift is deeply disturbing and speaks to a rampant and blatant disregard for the role of a free and fair press," The City's Editor in Chief Richard Kim said in a statement. "The choice of sour cream and onion chips is also questionable."
Greco is no stranger to scandal. In February 2024, the FBI searched two homes connected to Greco. Months later she resigned from the Adams administration while under FBI scrutiny. Adams never said what the FBI was investigating, and Greco was never charged with a crime.
It's still unclear whether Greco will face any repercussions in this incident.
Potato chip cash incident comes as Adams' former top adviser faces new charges
Word of this incident comes as Adams' former top adviser and closest ally Ingrid Lewis-Martin is one of a several people facing new bribery charges. She's charged with four counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree and four counts of bribe receiving in the second degree.
Prosecutors accused of Lewis-Martin of using her position to sway certain real estate and development projects, while receiving cash and a role on a TV show in exchange.
"While she allegedly received more than $75,000 in bribes and an appearance on a TV show, every other New Yorker lost out. Hardworking City employees were undermined, businesses and developers who followed the law were pushed aside, and the public was victimized by corruption at the highest levels of government," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Thursday.
"Looking at what happened yesterday, then the big story today, four additional indictments, someone who's the mayor's top aide, closest aide, I think it speaks a lot about the administration, who Mayor Adams surrounds himself," Honan said.