Wild: NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Turkish Airlines Flight Scandal

Wild: NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Turkish Airlines Flight Scandal

121

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has just been indicted on federal charges. While that’s beyond what I usually discuss on this blog, there’s an absolutely fascinating aviation angle, which I can’t help but cover…

Eric Adams’ amazing Turkish Airlines arrangement

Eric Adams has just been indicted on five federal charges, including bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, with the 57-page indictment having been unsealed this morning.

While Adams became New York City Mayor in 2022, this corruption scandal dates back to 2014, when he was Brooklyn Borough President. Over the past decade, he has reportedly had close connections to government officials in Turkey (now Türkiye), and many of the privileges he received involved travel. According to the indictment:

“For nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.”

Part of this scandal involves Turkish Airlines, as Adams reportedly received travel benefits on the airline worth tens of thousands of dollars. According to the indictment, Adams flew Turkish Airlines even when doing so wasn’t otherwise convenient (okay, that’s something us miles & points people are familiar with). 😉

Here are some of the accusations:

  • In October 2016, Adams and his partner traveled to India; they purchased two economy class tickets for $2,286, and two days before their flights, Adams accepted upgrades to business class for the entire journey, worth around $15,000
  • In July and August 2017, Adams, a close relative, and a member of his staff, traveled to Nice, Istanbul, Colombo, and Beijing, and he accepted free business class tickets from the airline, worth more than $35,000
  • In October 2017, Adams and a liaison traveled to Nepal and Beijing, and accepted free business class flights, worth more than $16,000
  • In January 2018, Adams and his partner traveled to Budapest; several months earlier, Adams’ partner had purchased two economy tickets for $560 each, and then one of his staffers asked the airline manager to upgrade the tickets to business class, which was done for free, with the tickets being worth more than $14,000

The indictment talks about how Adams flew Turkish Airlines even when it wasn’t convenient:

For example, during the July and August 2017 trip, Adams’s Partner was surprised to learn that ADAMS was in Turkey when she had understood him to be flying from New York to France. ADAMS responded, in a text message, “Transferring here. You know first stop is always instanbul [sic].” When Adams’s Partner later inquired about planning a trip to Easter Island, Chile, ADAMS repeatedly asked her whether the Turkish Airline could be used for their flights, requiring her to call the Turkish Airline to confirm that they did not have routes between New York and Chile.

Adams traveled through Istanbul a lot!

Even later on, once he became New York City Mayor, this behavior continued. In June 2021, a staffer of Adams requested a Turkish Airlines manager book tickets to Istanbul for Adams. In order to conceal the favorable treatment, the staffer requested that the airline manager charge Adams what appeared to be a “real” price for economy, while also providing a free upgrade to business class. Here are the messages that were exchanged:

Adams staffer: “How much does he owe? Please, let them call me and I will make the payment.”
Airline manager: “It is very expensive because it is last minute. I am working on a discount.”
Adams staffer: “Okay. Thank you.”
Airline manager: “I am going to charge $50”
Adams staffer: “No”
Airline manager: “That would work wouldn’t it”
Adams staffer: “No, dear. $50? What? Quote a proper price.”
Airline manager: “How much should I charge? :)”
Adams staffer: “His every step is being watched right now. $1,000 or so. Let it be somewhat real. We don’t want them to say he is flying for free. At the moment, the media’s attention is on Eric.”

So he ended up paying $1,000 for the tickets, and they were immediately upgraded to business class.

He received similar deals for hotels, also through connections at the airline. Another discussion between an Adams staffer and the airline manager went as follows:

Adams staffer: He is also asking where else they can go in Turkey. Do you have a recommendation?”
Airline manager: “Four Seasons”
Adams staffer: “It’s too expensive”
Airline manager: “Why does he care? He is not going to pay his name will not be on anything.”
Adams staffer: “Super”

Adams must really like Turkish Airlines!

Adams should’ve just gotten into miles & points!

I mean, I don’t even know where to start with this. First of all, kudos to investigators for what they uncovered, and I’m happy to see that he has been indicted. The behavior described is disgusting, yet all too often we don’t see accountability. Regardless of politics, those who break the laws — and especially elected officials — should be held accountable.

What’s kind of shocking is the extent to which these charges stem from the travel perks he accepted. It’s not like he was pocketing millions of dollars in cash from foreign governments, but instead he was largely accepting free, heavily discounted, and/or upgraded flights. Ironically, Turkish Airlines doesn’t even offer its best business class product to New York, at least on most frequencies.

Turkish Airlines does have delicious catering!

He would’ve largely just been better off if he could have found an airline employee to add him as their registered companion, or if he had gotten into miles & points. That way he also wouldn’t have had to make huge detours to many of the places he was traveling to.

For example, traveling from New York to Paris via Istanbul adds 75% to the distance flown, and roughly doubles travel time, and that’s assuming you have an efficient connection.

A couple of other things stand out:

  • It’s kind of funny how Adams’ partner must’ve been on the lookout for cheap Turkish Airlines fares (based on their trip to Hungary), and basically viewed any Turkish economy ticket as being a confirmed business class ticket
  • Adams’ partner called Turkish Airlines to ask if they fly to Easter Island? Like… is she that bad at the internet, or…?

Turkish Airlines used to have the motto “Globally Yours.” And I guess until recently, that rang true for Adams… Turkish Airlines was indeed globally his!

Bottom line

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has just been indicted, and this largely centers around bribery and accepting contributions from foreign nationals. The biggest player in all this seems to be Türkiye, with a bulk of his benefits being free and heavily discounted flights on Turkish Airlines. What a story…

What do you make of this indictment?

Conversations (121)
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  1. InternationalTraveler Diamond

    Ben, this article got quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

  2. George Romey Guest

    Fredo went against the family (speaking out against illegal immigration) and now they are "whacking him" in a non violent way.

    1. Santos Guest

      You kidding? The Adams administration has rolled out the red carpet for migrants, at a ludicrous expense to the NYC taxpayer. And the majority of the spend has been through totally shady no-bid contracts that produce very little benefit.

      Adams is getting nailed because he is, in fact, a completely corrupt POS. But when you have 21% voter turnout, these are the kind of creeps you get stuck with.

  3. Fred Farkle Guest

    Is no one curious about what the Mayor did for Turkey? It all started with the Mayor making express solicitations to act (using his office) on behalf of Turkey to clear regulatory issues on real estate projects. It built from there.

  4. KW Guest

    Does not surprise me that an ardent Zion*st and genoc*de supporter is complicit in bribery and has been indicted.

  5. GLCTraveler Gold

    Just plain stupidity!!!
    They are gonna fry his fritters!

  6. STEFFL Diamond

    Those, who enjoy reading about the MORE charges that ate up against the NYC Mayor should read this.
    Very interesting and it looks like GREAT investigation against him, since years!
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/09/26/eric-adams-indicted-nyc-mayor/

  7. David Guest

    As a 25+ year airline employee in both the front office and front lines (including NYC), this far from unusual at most airlines. Upgrades happened regularly for politicians, vendors, airline colleagues, or other connected individuals.

    However, I did work at one int'l airline that made it extremely difficult for upgrades, and you wouldn't believe the pushback I received from former colleagues trying to get upgrades with this airline. They acted insulted when I couldn't...

    As a 25+ year airline employee in both the front office and front lines (including NYC), this far from unusual at most airlines. Upgrades happened regularly for politicians, vendors, airline colleagues, or other connected individuals.

    However, I did work at one int'l airline that made it extremely difficult for upgrades, and you wouldn't believe the pushback I received from former colleagues trying to get upgrades with this airline. They acted insulted when I couldn't get them an upgrade.

    1. InternationalTraveler Diamond

      In this case it is not only upgrades. Looks like even for the economy tickets, not the regular current fare was just. Just a nominal amount.

  8. Sco Guest

    "Adams’ partner called Turkish Airlines to ask if they fly to Easter Island? Like… is she that bad at the internet, or…?"

    The indictment specifically says that he forced her to call to confirm with Turkish that they don't fly from NYC to Easter Island. Why are you trying to blame her for this?

  9. RichM Diamond

    As a non-American, this is quite interesting in the question of where "the line" is on politicians accepting freebies from airlines. Clearly Adams is particularly egregious, but most of them do it to some extent.

    For example, most Australian politicians are given membership of the Qantas Chairman's Lounge, which is an exclusive invitation-only tier, with access to super-fancy lounges that us plebs can't go into, and also would include free upgrades where available. Like AA...

    As a non-American, this is quite interesting in the question of where "the line" is on politicians accepting freebies from airlines. Clearly Adams is particularly egregious, but most of them do it to some extent.

    For example, most Australian politicians are given membership of the Qantas Chairman's Lounge, which is an exclusive invitation-only tier, with access to super-fancy lounges that us plebs can't go into, and also would include free upgrades where available. Like AA Concierge Key, but much better.

    This seems to be accepted practice, and is not considered "corrupt" (they do have to declare it on their register of interests). But it does raise questions when, for example, they then vote to restrict Qatar's landing rights in order to benefit Qantas.

    1. David Guest

      I totally agree with you

    2. Skedguy Guest

      Absolutely Rich. Some of the boondoggles that politicians in developing nations are involved in make this "scandal" look like chump change.

    3. Julia Guest

      Australia is a developing nation?

    4. Sarthak Guest

      While I see where you are coming from Julia, for this discussion it doesn't matter if Australia is developed or developing.

      Australia derives its laws from UK, a country that built majority of its wealth through bribery and deceit over 400 years. The accepted norms are far more liberal. US companies are subject to far tougher anti-corruption laws. Colonialism and capitalism are just fundamentally different.

  10. SMH Guest

    For all the "we go high when they go low" this party craps out they're no different than the "holier than thou" attitude the other party preaches. They're all corrupt grifters literally and morally robbing you all hardworking citizens blind and you keep voting the same kind of people in your parties into the highest offices possible. This country deserves a reckoning soon and fast. Too bad people still won't learn.

    1. James Guest

      I had the opposite reaction. This seems like a total false equivalence. If this is how we define endemic corruption, we have one of the cleanest societies on earth. Every law firm and accountant I’ve ever contracted with does worse on a weekly basis and its fine!

    2. DerekH Guest

      Completely agreed--crazy how every side assumes that only the other side would and does engage in immoral behavior; "surely, my "team" doesn't do such things since they're the good guys!"

      All while the ground they stand on erodes and crumbles beneath their feet while they root and holler for their team and color.

      Absolute buffoons and we're all doomed for it.

  11. Antwerp Guest

    I imagine politicians all over the U.S. are curious now in how this plays out. You think this is unusual? Any of you, including the OP, are naive to be shocked in thinking that travel perks are not extended to U.S. politicians of both parties on a daily basis. Which is why many are shocked to see Bernie or Mayor Pete almost always sitting in coach. They know better than to fool around with "handshakes."

    ...

    I imagine politicians all over the U.S. are curious now in how this plays out. You think this is unusual? Any of you, including the OP, are naive to be shocked in thinking that travel perks are not extended to U.S. politicians of both parties on a daily basis. Which is why many are shocked to see Bernie or Mayor Pete almost always sitting in coach. They know better than to fool around with "handshakes."

    I mean, even Supreme Court justices are getting nice little (often big) handouts.

    1. David Guest

      It happens all the time

  12. AIPAC owns US! Guest

    He should have learned from AIPAC. They openly decide which candidate should win elections in the USA or which property needs to be built where.

    1. LK Guest

      right, any other stereotypes you want to proclaim here?

  13. Mike Guest

    side comment to the story.
    The fact that Turkey chose to change its name (in Turkish) does not mean that its English name needs to change.
    You still use Spain, Italy, Hungary, Egypt etc, even though that's not the name that are used locally.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      They are copying the American play book.

      Otherwise we'd all be part of the United Tribes of Native Nations.
      DC should be District of Cherokee.
      The 13 colonies are occupied invaders who are believed to be terrorists.

      But who am I kidding. Y'all are brainwashed.

    2. Jesse Guest

      It was always Turkïye in Turkish.

    3. RichM Diamond

      The difference is that the official English name approved by the Turkish government is the Republic of Türkiye. Whereas, the official English name approved by the Spanish government, for example, is the Kingdom of Spain.

      So there is a difference and the official English name has changed, even if it's a fairly silly bit of posturing by the Turkish government.

  14. ImportViking Member

    Just grabbing some beer and chips and watch this comment section turn into a violent political arena with little discussion and tons of baseless claims and accusations on 'the other party'.

    Anyway, this is bribery of the clumsiest level. I just hope we can find out one day what Turkish Airlines or Turkey actually wanted out of this simpleton. There must be a reason why they 'invested' in him, and I guess that's a...

    Just grabbing some beer and chips and watch this comment section turn into a violent political arena with little discussion and tons of baseless claims and accusations on 'the other party'.

    Anyway, this is bribery of the clumsiest level. I just hope we can find out one day what Turkish Airlines or Turkey actually wanted out of this simpleton. There must be a reason why they 'invested' in him, and I guess that's a Pandora's Box we maybe shouldn't open right now, not with the rest of the world already burning.

    1. 305 Guest

      There have been 79 comments and it’s all been pretty civil

      If you want to start political drama go comment at the Thot Leader’s TMZ From The Wing

    2. Pierre Diamond

      Oh everybody knows the reason, they wanted a brand new NYC consulate in a high-rise building which they were sponsoring and which had some difficulties being approved.

      But this is not about his actions being or not illegal or immoral (to me they probably are both, but opinions can vary)... The hypocrisy of the situation is that he never was balmed for this before he started criticizing this Administration's immigration policies at the border.

  15. Mark Guest

    That is what he gets for going against Biden/Harris. He should have asked China Airlines for the trips and used Hunter as his travel agent.

    1. alex Guest

      this is why china airlines is a stupid name, people can't differentiate air china and china airlines

    2. Ripty Guest

      They don't want to change it because Taiwan still claims the entire China. Also if they declare independence the PRC has said they WILL invade them, so they're kind of a rock stuck in a hard place.

    3. Jp Guest

      It’s crazy how easy it is to piss off the rogue provinces of west Taiwan. As Deng said - I don’t care if the cat is black or white as long as TSMC is still making chips

    4. Eskimo Guest

      Formosa
      Zion

      Only for people who gets it

    5. ConcordeBoy Diamond

      this is why china airlines is a stupid name, people can't differentiate air china and china airlines

      That's more a factor of "people's" stupidity, than the airline's.......

  16. Tim Dunn Diamond

    You knew he was going down when AOC said days ago that he should step down for the sake of the Party.

    It's always about the Party and saving the skin of the rest.

    and that is not a partisan statement.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      AOC is Tim Dunn of the Democrats.

  17. Dave Guest

    I don't align with his politics or like the guy at all, so this is not a political opinion. But what was the payoff from the Turkish side? Was he doing anything that provided benefit to them? Was there any way at all this affected the people of New York?

    If not, I really don't see what the issue is here. These indictments of people are for the sake of the prosecutors, not actual...

    I don't align with his politics or like the guy at all, so this is not a political opinion. But what was the payoff from the Turkish side? Was he doing anything that provided benefit to them? Was there any way at all this affected the people of New York?

    If not, I really don't see what the issue is here. These indictments of people are for the sake of the prosecutors, not actual justice. Unless you can show me how this actually affected decisions that the people of New York had to pay for, I don't get why we care if he has connections at an airline.

    1. tcdtcd Guest

      Yes! A new consulate in NYC! Read the news!

    2. Tcdtcd Guest

      A new consulate building, I should say!

      Totally quid pro quo. The guy is a crook!

    3. Ole Guest

      He forced NYFD to open new Turkish Consulate highrise without proper fire inspection. Reason, his dealings prior to him becoming the mayor matter, is because he was Brooklyn Borough president aka still a government employee.

      From the released information, it does not seem, NYC residents were directly impacted by his bribery. However, if a typical NYC employee is restricted from accepting any gifts/favors above certain amount irrespective of the outcome, why should their boss get...

      He forced NYFD to open new Turkish Consulate highrise without proper fire inspection. Reason, his dealings prior to him becoming the mayor matter, is because he was Brooklyn Borough president aka still a government employee.

      From the released information, it does not seem, NYC residents were directly impacted by his bribery. However, if a typical NYC employee is restricted from accepting any gifts/favors above certain amount irrespective of the outcome, why should their boss get a hall pass? Also, if this is let go, where do we draw a line? Are we saying any corruption that does not materially/financially impact the residents is ok?

      By that logic congress(wo)men dealing insider trading is also completely acceptable.

  18. SadStateofOurNation Guest

    Don't comprehend the difference between in treatment between Adams and clarence thomas.

    They are both in government and both African Americans. Oh wait, one is from the party of law and order..

  19. Alonzo Diamond

    Listen, I hate to see anyone go down for anything. But this man knew his moves were being watched and he still chose violence.

    If I were him, I'd step down, admit fault and aim for a at home sentence plea deal.

    1. Pete Guest

      I wouldn't call it violence, but the message transcripts are undeniably very damaging. He's been well and truly busted, and must resign immediately.

    2. Alonzo Diamond

      It's a synonym dummy. Finish paying off your student loans.

    3. Ken Guest

      Lol I think it's you who needs to update your contemporary dictionary. The things kids say these days

    4. Alonzo Diamond

      @Ken you spelled your name wrong again Karen.

    5. John Guest

      Alonzo is not a kid. He looks mid 50s to early 60s.

    6. these violent turkish delights Guest

      That's a pop culture reference. It's ok if you haven't watched Game of Thrones or you don't get the reference. You could just move on but you chose to insult him by telling him to get a dictionary. So, today you woke up and chose violence.

    7. John Guest

      My darling Alonzo, if flying business class is "violence" then many of us must be serial killers by now..

  20. Andrew Y Guest

    In all fairness, I live in New York and have thought of flying to Paris via IST because East Coast to Europe flights too brief for a good nights rest. The JFK-IST flight is 10 hours, great to catch some ZZZs.

    Adams is a public official, so what he did was wrong. But if you’re an influencer, getting freebies like this would be your job!

  21. Steve Guest

    Yet the people of NYC will always vote democrat

    1. N1120A Guest

      Adams is less of a Democrat than Joe Manchin, you dolt.

    2. LK Guest

      You might have heard of recent Republican Mayors Giuliani (2 terms) and Bloomberg (3 terms).

  22. jcil Guest

    Now let's do all the government employees the Chinese have bought off. We will probably need some new jails.

  23. David Arnett Guest

    Disgusting is criminalizing telling the truth or criminalizing a Christian not wanting to bake a cake for gay marriage. Disgusting is thugs running around cities and peaceful communities being ruined by forced bussing into school districts. Disgusting is not a politician getting free travel perks for not even doing anything in return.

    Adams is an Israel First anti White anti freedom pro lgbt but it is disgusting the government goes after him but not...

    Disgusting is criminalizing telling the truth or criminalizing a Christian not wanting to bake a cake for gay marriage. Disgusting is thugs running around cities and peaceful communities being ruined by forced bussing into school districts. Disgusting is not a politician getting free travel perks for not even doing anything in return.

    Adams is an Israel First anti White anti freedom pro lgbt but it is disgusting the government goes after him but not millions of illegals, the judges, politicians, and cops who aid and abet illegals, the violent criminals roaming cities pushing blm, the Israel First politicians aiding and abetting genocide, and the grifters aiding and abetting the other Israel First Ukraine last Zelensky.

    The fact that the evil government goes after Adams means he is probably someone who doesn’t deserve it even if he is a pos for being anti White.

  24. Aaron Guest

    Funny enough, it used to be cheaper to go to Western Europe via Istanbul than it was to simply fly to Istanbul using Miles and Smiles! Less than 50k points for J if I remember correctly!

    1. Mishas Guest

      Also some cities in Central Asia via Istanbul required fewer miles than just to IST. Not any more.

  25. Pete Diamond

    Glad he’s being held to the same standards as our Supreme Court justices…oops never mind.

  26. 767-223 Guest

    Back in the day former NYC mayor Ed Koch used to fly TWA a lot and made a scene if he was not upgraded for free.

    1. Ripty Guest

      I'm sure United, Delta and American do this as well. The difference is that it is 'lobbying' if an American company does it, but if it's an international company it's foreign influence and corruption.

  27. Djura Guest

    Adams is a bad mayor. Slightly better than the one before the low-life low-IQ incompetent bio-mass (it would be giving it too much credit calling him a "person") who served two terms before him, but still a bad mayor. However, I have two concerns here:
    1) Why is he only being charged AFTER he showed opposition to his party's criminal immigration policies, that are sinking and devastating NYC budget?
    2) He became mayor...

    Adams is a bad mayor. Slightly better than the one before the low-life low-IQ incompetent bio-mass (it would be giving it too much credit calling him a "person") who served two terms before him, but still a bad mayor. However, I have two concerns here:
    1) Why is he only being charged AFTER he showed opposition to his party's criminal immigration policies, that are sinking and devastating NYC budget?
    2) He became mayor in 2021. What in hell his transactions and free upgrades from before that period have to do with corrupt morons from FBI and DOJ?

    1. Alonzo Diamond

      But Bloomberg was a great mayor. Most liked mayor in NYC history.

    2. Pete Guest

      He means Bill de Blasio, whose tenure was so unmemorable that almost nobody can recall he was mayor of New York for eight years!

  28. Ric Guest

    Turkish certainly is not the ONLY airline that does this.
    And Adams is not the only one that takes advantage of this.

    US Congresspeople have been doing this for years between DC and West Coast.
    I can't tell you how many times I saw members of Congress in the front.

    1. chasgoose Guest

      I mean that could be the case, but I imagine a lot of members of Congress, especially those from the West, travel enough to earn top-tier status on at least a couple airlines.

    2. Miguel Guest

      @chasgoose Not to mention they're probably very likely to be given invite-only status with the airlines they fly. I'm sure the rate of CK/GS/DL360 membership in Congress is a lot higher than the general flying public.

    3. N1120A Guest

      Members of Congress have much more transparent travel. They book federal government negotiated full Y fares, which have historically upgraded quite easily, and they do sometimes end up in coach.

    4. Jim Guest

      @N1120A so how is that different from Adams demanding that he be charged a proper economy class fare for his TK ticket (and then getting an upgrade afterwards)?

  29. Peter Guest

    Lol define inconvenient. I will take a detour in business class any day over a direct in economy. Hell even a detour in business is great, Jennifer Aniston was so right in the Emirates commercial. In July during an IRROP I called American to rebook my YUL-NYC-CDG in AA business to QR YUL-DOH-CDG with an overnight in Doha. I was going to pay a night in the hotel in Doha just to fly the long...

    Lol define inconvenient. I will take a detour in business class any day over a direct in economy. Hell even a detour in business is great, Jennifer Aniston was so right in the Emirates commercial. In July during an IRROP I called American to rebook my YUL-NYC-CDG in AA business to QR YUL-DOH-CDG with an overnight in Doha. I was going to pay a night in the hotel in Doha just to fly the long way in QSuite and A380. But QR threw in a free hotel and meal voucher and transfer to hotel. Plus all the extra miles I got lol

  30. Paul Weiss Guest

    Adams' representation is a bottom shelf law firm which makes it even more certain he is SOL.

    1. TravelinWilly Diamond

      Your mom called.

      You need to come up from the basement and empty the dishwasher.

  31. Mike O. Guest

    Someone's probably going to make a Tim Dunn reference out of this; Tim's probably saying to himself, "This wouldn't have happened if he just flew Delta"

    1. yoloswag420 Guest

      You are your own self-fulfilling prophecy.

      Everyone complains about him, but also can't wait to bring him up at any chance. It's tired and boring. Just leave him in the Dunnster and be done with it already.

  32. Julia Guest

    "traveling from New York to Istanbul via Paris adds 75% to the distance flown"

    I think you meant traveling from New York to Paris via Istanbul...

  33. Cedric Guest

    Peanuts but still discusting behavior. Google says he makes 258k as Mayor....seems ridiculously low.

  34. Rico Gold

    I wonder what benefit Türkiye got from him as Brooklyn Borough President. Maybe they just were betting on his future as US Senator someday.

    This case will go to the Supreme Court where Justice Clarence Thomas will scoff at this type of travel bribery as being amateur hour. Flight connections? Bah.

    1. Ken Guest

      The Turkish government was playing the long game. After he became the mayor-elect he threatened the fire department to sign off on the new Turkish Consulate skyscraper despite fire safety concerns.

    2. Rico Gold

      Ah, I thought there would be a construction angle of some kind. Thanks.

    3. Donato Guest

      The real issue is that getting certain building inspections scheduled is almost impossible. Entire construction projects are brought to a halt waiting for a routine inspection. Not sure if that makes the Adam's interference right. It is more right than DOJ calculating the costs of the flights involved at 100K when the miles could have been purchased for 5K.

  35. eaci Guest

    So ~$20k of inappropriate in-kind donations in a ~$20 million campaign? Yawn.

    This is pretty thin gruel, especially given the sheer amount of *actual* corruption that has a real impact on people's daily lives. Hard to be bothered by the fact that some wealthy person somewhere gave an in-kind donation to... *checks notes* a lowly NYC borough president.

    I'm willing to believe some campaign finance laws were almost certainly broken here, but this is the...

    So ~$20k of inappropriate in-kind donations in a ~$20 million campaign? Yawn.

    This is pretty thin gruel, especially given the sheer amount of *actual* corruption that has a real impact on people's daily lives. Hard to be bothered by the fact that some wealthy person somewhere gave an in-kind donation to... *checks notes* a lowly NYC borough president.

    I'm willing to believe some campaign finance laws were almost certainly broken here, but this is the kind of violation that ordinarily gets a (small) fine from the FEC, not a criminal indictment.

    Did SDNY have nothing better to do with its time?

    1. Ken Guest

      This is only one part of the indictment, Ben is just reporting on the part relevant to this site.

      Like you said they obviously wouldn't go this far for ~$20k of inappropriate in-kind donations because it is obviously more than that.

    2. eaci Guest

      I read the indictment. This is the entire basis for it.

      The rest is just the prosecution's inflating numbers. Their essential contention is that based on these in-kind donations, he would not have been eligible for matching funds, which he received; therefore the campaign "stole" $10mm.

      If the FEC were handling this, they *might* bring a civil penalty. More likely they'd issue an administrative fine.

    3. Paul Weiss Guest

      Did SDNY have nothing better to do with its time?

      You have to be kidding me, the peanut gallery on a travel blog is lambasting the SDNY which has a >95% conviction rate?

    4. Skadden is Better Guest

      Wow, for once I agree with Paul Weiss.

  36. Luke Guest

    Would have been even funnier if did some kind of "domestic" routing such as NY to Miami via a short detour in Istanbul!

    1. Ezawa Tami Guest

      That wouldn't have been possible due to the air cabotage law

  37. Willem Guest

    lol. I flew Turkish Airlines economy in 2016 when I studied abroad for like $630 r/t when the next cheapest ticket was over $1k USD. Old Attaturk airport. Good times!

  38. Mike O. Guest

    For readers outside of the U.S., you are innocent until proven guilty. Then again, the feds (with the SDNY at that with a 90+ conviction rate) does not indict someone (especially a high profile figure such as this and Puff Daddy) unless they have the goods on them.

  39. Dick Bupkiss Guest

    Hey, I just (yesterday) flew home from France to Seattle via Istanbul on TK in business class. It was great.

    Go ahead, indict me, cuff me if you want.

    And by the way: while TK did not fly to Chile when the corrupt mayor's wife was shopping for flights to Easter Island, Turkish just recently DID announce a new route to Santiago (coincidence? hmmm)...."Hey Turkish, if you're listening, I'd like some flights to Bora Bora...

    Hey, I just (yesterday) flew home from France to Seattle via Istanbul on TK in business class. It was great.

    Go ahead, indict me, cuff me if you want.

    And by the way: while TK did not fly to Chile when the corrupt mayor's wife was shopping for flights to Easter Island, Turkish just recently DID announce a new route to Santiago (coincidence? hmmm)...."Hey Turkish, if you're listening, I'd like some flights to Bora Bora next year, can you guys, you know, set that up for me? See you at IST on the way - Love ya!!!") Sure, I'll connect via IST no problemo, it's right on the way...

  40. Nun Guest

    The staffer made a perfect phone call.

  41. James Guest

    Even if he flew on miles and points, the optics would look bad. "Mayor hacks his way into business and first class flights while his city is losing money".
    Don't run for office, Ben.

  42. Rob Guest

    Guess TK actually has decent customer service and easy upgrade availability if you’re the corrupt af mayor of NYC

  43. Icarus Guest

    So basically doing what Trump does all the time and believes he can carry on working as normal. Another corrupt mayor ( after Giuliani) and an example of people who think that as they have money it’s ok.

    1. stogieguy7 Diamond

      Trump has his own luxury aircraft. And Adams is a democrat.

    2. Icarus Guest

      They are all part of the bling ring.

    3. Mike O. Guest

      Both sides are shady. It's all about money and power.

    4. AD123 New Member

      True. Why would any normal person want to run for politics when they will get dragged through the dirt by the media no matter what they do!

    5. Ripty Guest

      Say whatever you want about Trump, but accepting bribes in the form of airline upgrades is definitely not something on his record. He flies private almost everywhere.

    6. Pierre Diamond

      Icarus, if your posts were a story by Agatha Christie, it would be called "The case of the broken record"...

  44. digital_notmad Diamond

    Thrilled this clown is finally getting what's coming to him. May it result in a lengthy genpop prison sentence!

    1. Mike O. Guest

      The feds certainly have been busy as of late! From Diddy to this!

    2. digital_notmad Diamond

      They nailed Sen. Menendez too! On a friggin' role. You love to see it.

    3. Paul Weiss Guest

      I hope this inspires a new wave of future law students and lawyers to go into Litigation.

    4. TravelinWilly Diamond

      "I hope this inspires a new wave of future law students and lawyers to go into Litigation."

      They'll make tens and tens of dollars, just like you and your wife do!

  45. snic Diamond

    I do like Adams' misspelling, "Instantbul". Instant bull is more or less what one expects from a politician. Especially Adams.

    1. Mike O. Guest

      To be fair, he's dyslexic. But still...

    2. Pat P Guest

      NO matter what elections you vote in, FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON. Example, Giuliani, Adams, Justice Thomas ! Would you accept any of such person as ypur son in law ?!

  46. VT-CIE Diamond

    Completely different from the topic, but since it seems you have a lot of energy today to post all the goings-on at Southwest… I hope you slept well on the flat beds on the Copa Airlines 737 MAX 9, and I’m looking forward to your experiences shortly! Where next?

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ VT-CIE -- Hah, there's a lot to cover today, eh? I'll have my Copa thoughts soon. Was supposed to be the first thing this morning, but it has been a nonstop news day, so...

    2. Eli Guest

      Share with me what else is going on today?

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Pete Diamond

Glad he’s being held to the same standards as our Supreme Court justices…oops never mind.

11
TravelinWilly Diamond

LOL!!!! Er...you okay?

9
NG Guest

I need a drink after reading that.

5
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