Adams defense fund spending up to $743K on legal fees amid the FBI’s Turkey probe
Mayor Adams’ legal defense trust has spent more than $743,000 on lawyer fees so far and recently hired one-time mayoral hopeful Bo Dietl’s private detective firm to vet donations to the fund, new filings reveal.
The trust, which Adams launched in November to cover costs associated with the FBI’s investigation into his 2021 campaign’s finances and alleged ties to the Turkish government, disclosed the new spending details in a disclosure released late Monday. The disclosure shows the fund has raised some $1.2 million so far from hundreds of contributors.
The records show a majority of the money — $733,992 — has been paid out in legal fees to WilmerHale, a law firm retained by the trust to represent Adams and his campaign amid the ongoing FBI probe. Brendan McGuire, Adams’ ex-City Hall chief counsel, works as a partner at WilmerHale and is the top lawyer assigned to represent the mayor.
A federal probe, led by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, is looking at ties between Turkey and the Adams campaign, including the alleged use of a Brooklyn construction company to funnel illegal donations. That investigation has led to the feds seizing Adams’ electronic devices and raids on the homes of his campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs and City Hall staffer Rana Abbasova.
Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Another $10,000 of the cash raised by the trust has been doled out in legal fees to Pitta LLP, a firm operated by Vito Pitta, Adams’ longtime fundraising compliance lawyer, the fresh filings say.
The disclosure also reveals a new expense — $13,329 paid to Beau Dietl & Associates, a private investigator firm, for “vetting and investigative services,” the records show.
Dietl, a conservative media personality who’s friendly with Adams and ran unsuccessfully as an independent against Bill de Blasio in 2017, wouldn’t elaborate on the services his firm has provided when reached by phone Tuesday. “I wouldn’t f-----g tell you any f-----g thing,” he told the Daily News.
Pitta said Dietl’s firm has been hired to vet donations to the trust to ensure they’re legal. The new filings show another private detective firm, Connecticut-based Artus Group, has already been paid $68,328 to perform the same services.
Pitta said the trust had to retain both Artus and Dietl’s firm because donation vetting is time-consuming. Pitta also said Adams is grateful for the donations the trust has received.
“[The trust] continues to receive significant support from New Yorkers as the mayor’s legal team seeks a timely and just conclusion to the federal inquiry,” he said.