Ex-aide to NYC Mayor Eric Adams avoids prison time as federal judge addresses ‘elephant in the room’

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NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams was sentenced Tuesday to three years’ probation, including a year of home confinement, for soliciting illegal campaign contributions for Adams.

But as a federal judge announced the sentence for Mohamed Bahi, a liaison to the city’s Muslim communities, he also addressed the “elephant in the room” — that Adams’ own corruption charges had been erased through a remarkable intervention by the Trump administration.

“There’s a notable absence here of the person at the apex of the pyramid,” said the judge, Dale E. Ho, who also presided over Adams’ since-dismissed case. “It is hard to escape the impression that Mr. Bahi, as his counsel put it, is left here holding the bag.”

Bahi, 41, had pleaded guilty to helping solicit illegal donations from employees of a Brooklyn construction company during a December 2020 fundraiser for Adams’ first mayoral campaign.

That case grew out of a sweeping corruption investigation into Adams and his campaign, which led to the mayor’s indictment in September 2024 on bribery and campaign finance offenses. Earlier this year, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against Adams, arguing it was impeding his cooperation with President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities.

The extraordinary development prompted protests and resignations from several top prosecutors, including the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who accused Adams of striking a quid pro quo deal with Trump.

Adams has denied wrongdoing, insisting that the charges were political payback for his criticism of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy. He ran for re-election this year as an independent, but ended his campaign early.

In the months since the dismissal, prosecutors have continued their cases against those charged in schemes linked to the mayor’s 2021 campaign, including a Brooklyn construction magnate who worked with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal donations to Adams.

An attorney for Bahi, Derek Adams, addressed those unusual circumstances Tuesday, accusing federal prosecutors of sparing “those in positions of power.”

“The sentiment of the public,” he added, was that his client was left “holding the bag” while Adams got off.

When Ho asked the government how he should weigh the fact that Adams was not facing charges, the prosecutor, Robert Sobelman, demurred, saying he could only discuss the case against Bahi.

For his part, Bahi told the judge he had accepted “full responsibility for my actions” and was focused on rebuilding trust. “The integrity of elections is one of the most sacred rights we have, and I violated that,” he said through tears.

Bahi previously said he was “instructed” by another Adams volunteer to set up the straw donation scheme, which allowed the campaign to collect larger contributions through the city’s generous matching funds program.

Prosecutors also said Bahi deleted Signal, an encrypted messaging app, from his phone after learning that federal agents were outside his home. They had urged the judge to sentence him to one year in prison.

Bahi embraced his dozens of supporters in the courtroom after learning that he would avoid prison time. His confinement will allow him to leave home for work and to attend religious services, among other reasons.

“I’m feeling content that this whole ordeal is over,” he told reporters as he left the courtroom. “Spending time with my family for a year is probably the best thing I can do.”