Federal authorities subpoena NYC mayor’s director of asylum seeker operations

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the director overseeing New York City’s office for asylum seekers, the latest sign of the intense investigation into the administration of Mayor Eric Adams.

Molly Schaeffer, who leads the city’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, received the information sharing request from federal authorities Friday morning, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the subpoena.

It was not immediately clear what information federal authorities were seeking or whether the subpoena related to multiple ongoing federal law enforcement investigations swirling around Adams, a first-term Democrat and former police captain.

Schaeffer directed questions to the mayor’s press secretary, Fabien Levy, who did not respond to phone calls. Emailed inquiries to the U.S. attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn were not returned.

Earlier this month, federal authorities seized the phones of several top advisers to the mayor, including his schools chancellor, two deputy mayors and a longtime adviser who oversees contracts at migrant shelters. They also seized the phones of the police commissioner, Edward Caban, who resigned last week.

Those seizures are believed to be related to probes overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which is looking at least in part into whether the relatives of top-ranking Adams’ aides used their family connection for financial gain.

A separate federal probe led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offce in Brooklyn is believed to be examining Adam’s director of Asian Affairs, Winnie Greco.

Schaeffer has not been accused of any wrongdoing.