Frank Carone, a prominent Brooklyn Democratic powerbroker and former chief of staff to ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested Wednesday morning by the FBI at his Manhattan residence.
Carone, a lawyer by profession, was taken into custody alongside his brother Anthony Carone and two other individuals connected to a Queens hotel operation.
The two additional defendants named in the case are Yan Po Zhu and Crystal Chen, who own and manage a Microtel hotel in Queens, respectively.
Charges are being filed in the Eastern District of New York, with Carone set to appear for arraignment in Brooklyn’s federal court after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors allege that between June 2022 and December 2023, the four defendants “devised and executed a scheme to exploit the City’s migrant crisis for profit.”
The indictment alleges that Frank Carone, acting in his role as Chief of Staff, agreed to accept bribe payments from Zhu and Chen, routed through his brother Anthony, in exchange for steering a lucrative city contract.
According to the indictment, Carone agreed to direct “a multimillion-dollar Emergency Shelter Contract to the Microtel owned by ZHU and managed by Chen,” with payments laundered through a law firm account controlled by Anthony Carone.
Prosecutors allege Frank Carone then used the funds for personal expenses, including paying personal credit card bills and transferring money to a bank account of which he was the sole beneficial owner.
“In total, Zhu and Chen paid approximately $120,000 to F. Carone in exchange for an Emergency Shelter Contract for the Microtel, which was laundered through ‘Law Firm #2 Account’ by A. Carone and his co-defendants,” the indictment states.
Carone had long served as a lawyer for the Kings County Democratic Committee, supporting Adams throughout his political journey from state Senate to Brooklyn Borough President and eventually City Hall.
He was also an attorney at Abrams and Fensterman, a Brooklyn firm well known in political lobbying circles, before departing City Hall to establish his own lobbying firm.
Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, mounted an immediate and forceful defence of his client, dismissing the government’s case in direct terms.
Aidala called the indictment “weak” and “based on purely circumstantial evidence that’s not worth the paper upon which it is printed,” adding, “Today’s indictment is a sad day for our criminal justice system.”
Former Mayor Adams released a statement offering support for his longtime ally, saying, “My prayers are with his family.”
Adams also said, “Frank Carone has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York.”