Ingrid-Lewis Martin, the former chief adviser to Mayor Adams who suddenly resigned over the weekend amid news she’s expected to be indicted this week, denied she had broken the law at a press conference Monday.
“I am here falsely accused of something; I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it’s something that’s illegal, and I have never done anything illegal in my capacity in government. I’ve worked in government for over 35 years, in all three branches, federal, state and city. I’ve worked at the lowest level to some optimum levels,” Lewis-Martin told reporters at her lawyer Arthur Aidala’s Midtown law firm.
“During my tenure, I have never taken any gifts, money — anything.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is presenting evidence about Lewis-Martin to a grand jury and is expected to be nearing asking the panel to vote on an indictment.
Aidala said he believed charges to be imminent, saying, “One of the reasons why we’re doing this kind of proactively is we’re pretty certain that one day this week, we are going to be appearing in court at 100 Centre St., and maybe we can get some of this out of the way.” He said he believed the charges would relate to “improper gifts.
“There were so many opportunities if somebody wanted to do something criminal, to do so, and Ingrid never did that, never thought about doing that, and no one would even offer it, because they know that’s not who Ingrid Lewis-Martin is,” Aidala said.
The attorney said Lewis-Martin asked to speak with the DA’s office outside of the panel’s presence in a denied request last week and that she declined to provide testimony to grand jurors.
“It is a tremendous risk, and she didn’t feel she would get a fair shake,” Aidala said.
News of potential charges broke hours after Lewis-Martin announced her immediate resignation early Sunday in a statement thanking the mayor for “encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times.”
The DA’s office has declined to comment on or confirm details of the grand jury investigation. Aidala said he anticipates multiple people will be indicted.
The New York Times reported Sunday that prosecutors are also looking into Lewis-Martin’s son, Glenn Martin II, who has DJ’d at Gracie Mansion, Mayank Dwivedi, a hotelier who operates multiple properties in the city and the Hamptons and an associate of Dwivedi.
The development that Lewis-Martin, 63, was being scrutinized by law enforcement emerged in late September when state and federal investigators stopped her at Kennedy Airport as she returned from a trip to Japan.
Manhattan DA investigators search Lewis-Martin’s Brooklyn home in September. (Obtained by Daily News)
Manhattan DA investigators seized her cell phone at the airport and informed her they were searching her Brooklyn home.
Simultaneously, federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office subpoenaed her to testify a day after unsealing a five-count indictment against the mayor alleging he sold his political influence to wealthy Turkish officials. Aidala said Monday that Lewis-Martin was a witness in a federal probe but not a target.
The News previously reported that Jesse Hamilton, a former state senator who now manages the city’s vast real estate portfolio, and Diana Boutross, a top broker at the Cushman & Wakefield real estate firm, were also on the trip and had their phones seized by state investigators.
Boutross’ firm is one of two real estate companies that serve as the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ licensed brokers in dealings with private property owners. It wasn’t clear whether the charges expected this week will concern Hamilton and Boutross, who have not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
Sources on Sunday told the Daily News a split began to emerge between Lewis-Martin and the mayor after she went on Aidala’s radio show, “The Arthur Aidala Power Hour,” after her run-in with law enforcement at the airport. One said they hadn’t spoken for weeks before her sudden resignation.
During the radio interview, Lewis-Martin said she believed the public would see that “we have not done anything illegal to the magnitude or scale that requires the federal government and the DA’s office to investigate us.” Sources said the comment angered Adams for suggesting criminal activity had occurred.
“She was, with all humility, saying, Look, I’m not perfect, but I could tell you for a fact, I never did anything that rose through the criminal level,” Aidala said Monday.
Asked whether he thought Lewis-Martin was being targeted to secure her cooperation against the mayor, Aidala said he did.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Ingrid Lewis-Martin is only in the crosshairs because of her official capacity,” Aidala said.