Former Eric Adams Housing Official Indicted for Corruption

Eric Adams is out of office, but allegations of corruption continue to dog his administration.

Federal prosecutors indicted Tony Herbert on corruption charges, The City reported. Herbert allegedly demanded kickbacks from vendors in exchange for city contracts while the Adams associate served as a liaison between City Hall and NYCHA.

Prosecutors allege Herbert shook down a firm seeking a contract to perform security services at NYCHA developments. Herbert allegedly ghostwrote a letter to an unidentified aide to get the security firm pre-qualified as a minority-owned business. He allegedly took a $3,500 bribe from the security firm in 2024.

Law enforcement tapped on the security firm’s owner to cooperate in their probe, leading to recorded conversations and saved messages. Texts even allegedly show Herbert communicating with Adams about the need for more security at NYCHA developments, without disclosing the alleged scheme, according to court filings.

The vendor did not land the contract.

Herbert also allegedly took kickbacks from a funeral home director trying to get involved in subsidizing funeral services for low-income residents. Herbert appeared to receive a $6,000 check from the funeral home, referenced in a memo as “referrals.”

Additionally, Herbert allegedly defrauded the federal government out of a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Plan loan for a nonexistent bakery.

It all came to an end in September 2024, according to prosecutors, on the day the FBI and Department of Investigation seized the phones of multiple senior aides to Adams.

Herbert “vehemently denies wrongdoing,” his attorney said on Tuesday following his arraignment. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charges.

The federal prosecutor’s office involved in Herbert’s indictment is the same one that launched a bribery and campaign finance case against Adams. The former mayor’s indictment was ultimately dismissed by the Justice Department as he grew more cooperative with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, arguably costing Adams a second term.

— Holden Walter-Warner