Ex-cop gets slap on wrist for involvement in straw donation scheme to help Eric Adams' mayoral campaign

A former police officer received a slap on the wrist after pleading guilty Monday to orchestrating a straw donation scheme to help Eric Adams' (D) mayoral campaign.

Dwayne Montgomery pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, a class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by Politico.

As part of the deal, Montgomery admitted to conspiring with others to make an "illegal contribution to the Eric Adams 2021 Mayoral Campaign… which disguised the true source of the funds being contributed," it read. Montgomery "directed straw donors to make contributions to the Campaign, and the funds for the contributions were reimbursed by the Defendant and others."

The former New York Police Department deputy inspector confessed to "direct[ing] and aid[ing] others to structure campaign contributions by utilizing straw donors, with the intention of triggering matching funds by submitting falsified campaign contribution forms to the New York City Campaign Finance Board."

Montgomery used the mobile payment service Cash App to transfer "$260 to Straw Donor-6" on August 14, 2020. After the money was transferred, Montgomery instructed the straw donor to contribute $260 to Adams' campaign.

In exchange for Montgomery pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed to recommend that he "be sentenced to a conditional discharge" that would allow him to "complete two-hundred hours of community service and pay a fine of $500" to satisfy the indictment.

Montgomery will spend the 200 hours of community service as an "instructor, consultant, and hands-on participant with BKLYN Combine, a community-based organization that provides educational, leadership, and social support programs to teens and young adults in African-American communities throughout New York City."

Montgomery has also been banned from organizing or hosting political fundraisers for one year.

Adams is also a former NYPD officer whose time with the department overlapped with Montgomery's.

Evan Thies, a 2021 Adams campaign representative, previously stated, "Montgomery was a colleague of the mayor in the police department whom he knew socially and worked on criminal justice issues with. Dozens of former police officers and criminal justice advocates hosted events for the mayor over the course of the campaign."

During a Monday press conference, Adams reiterated that his campaign was neither involved nor aware of the straw donation plot, Politico reported.

"I think the DA clearly reported that there was nothing our campaign did that was a part of what was done wrong. I say let the DA handle the situation," Adams said.

He noted that his campaign's vetting process included "spending thousands of dollars on a compliance attorney, who matched signature, who matched information and made sure things were done with the level of scrutiny they deserved. And we returned back tens of thousands of donations that did not follow that muster. And so the campaign did its job."

Montgomery's attorney did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.

Anything else?

Chinese billionaire Hui Qin pleaded guilty last month to participating in a straw donation plot, Blaze News previously reported. According to the Department of Justice, he made $11,600 in illegal donations to New York and Rhode Island political campaigns. A source familiar with the case told the New York Times that some of his donations were made to Adams' campaign.

Vito Pitta, Adams' lawyer for his 2021 mayoral campaign, stated, "As the federal government made clear today, the campaign had no knowledge of a straw donor scheme — and no member of the campaign has been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing."

Adams' campaign is also being investigated for allegedly receiving illegal donations from the government of Turkey, the Times reported. The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the homes of Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and the mayor's director of Asian affairs, Winnie Greco.

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