Adams' Adviser Out After Slipping Reporter Bag of Cash

A longtime former aide to New York Mayor Eric Adams has been benched from his reelection campaign after an unusual handoff. More than $100 in cash, stuffed inside a red envelope and nestled in a bag of potato chips, found its way from Winnie Greco to a reporter from the City news outlet, reports the New York Times. The snack-turned-cash delivery took place after a Harlem event on Aug. 13, with Greco—formerly Adams' director of Asian affairs and a high-profile fundraiser—meeting reporter Katie Honan at Greco's request. Honan, thinking she was getting a news tip, says that instead Greco handed her a bag of potato chips, which, when Honan peeked inside later while alone at her subway stop, contained the red envelope with "at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills," per the City.

Honan says she immediately called Greco to try to return the cash, but Greco said she'd already left the area, so Honan instead handed the money over to her City editors. The outlet promptly notified the NYC's Department of Investigation, and federal prosecutors soon joined in. Greco's lawyer, meanwhile, says the money wasn't an attempted bribe, per the AP. "This was not a bag of cash," Steven Brill said in a statement. "In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. ... Winnie's intention was born purely out of kindness." Greco herself apologized to the outlet, with Brill noting she was "embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused."

The mayor's campaign has since suspended Greco from all volunteer activities, with a spokesman expressing shock and affirming Adams' commitment to the "highest ethical and legal standards." Greco is no stranger to such headlines: Her homes were raided by the FBI last year as part of a probe into possible Chinese interference in the 2021 mayoral race. She stepped down from City Hall amid a wave of departures in 2024 but was back volunteering for Adams' new run. The cash-in-chips saga comes as several Adams associates—including his former chief adviser—face expected corruption charges.