Manhattan D.A. Is Urged to Pursue a Criminal Case Against Eric Adams
Anthony Capozzolo, a partner at Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, was quoted in a recent New York Times article about the feasibility of state prosecution for former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A federal corruption indictment against Adams was dismissed last year.
The question comes as a prominent government watchdog group, Citizens Union, has asked the Manhattan district attorney to pursue a corruption case in state court, suggesting that Adams’s alleged offenses would still be state crimes.
But former prosecutors interviewed for the article said prevailing at a trial in state court would be challenging and hinges on federal cooperation, which some say is unlikely at this time.
"Anthony Capozzolo, a defense lawyer who previously worked as both a state and federal prosecutor and handled high-profile corruption cases, said a state case without the cooperation of the U.S. attorney's office would be 'close to unprosecutable.'"
The article explores the reasons why, including not having access to evidence already collected in the federal investigation.