Phil Banks, Mayor Adams’ former public safety deputy who resigned last fall after his home was raided by federal authorities, faces potential fines for not filing an annual financial disclosure on time upon leaving City Hall, the Daily News has learned.
In another previously unknown wrinkle, before the raid at Banks’ home, Adams’ office removed his name from a list that identifies all senior city officials who by law must file annual financial disclosures. After The News reached out for comment Friday, Adams’ office put Banks’ name back on the list, the latest iteration of which is supposed to identify all city officials with policy-making authority as of August 2024, according to Conflicts of Interest Board Executive Director Carolyn Miller, whose agency maintains the document.
Adams spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said Banks’ name was removed by mistake when the mayor’s office submitted the most up-to-date list on Aug. 7. Up to that point, Banks had been on the so-called “policymaker list” for the entire duration of his time as deputy mayor. Cockfield didn’t elaborate on how the mistake happened.
Either way, Banks was still required to file his 2024 financial disclosure within 60 days of his Oct. 7 resignation because he was on the February 2024 version of the list, confirming he had policymaking authority at least at some point in the last calendar year.
Miller also confirmed Friday that Banks hasn’t filed his 2024 disclosure, even though it was due Dec. 6. He hasn’t received an extension.
Banks’ 2023 financial disclosure, which he filed as required, showed he held as much as $5.7 million in various assets, including owning three Queens properties and hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks.
Under city law, submitting a financial disclosure more than one week after it’s due can subject officials to a fine “ranging from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $10,000,” with the “length of the delay in filing” being key in assessing penalties. The law also states the conflicts board must alert the Department of Investigation “within two months” of an official’s failure to file. Banks’ two-month overdue date is Feb. 4.
Citing confidentiality protocols, Miller declined to say whether the board has levied a fine against Banks or alerted the DOI. A spokeswoman for the DOI, which is working with the feds on corruption investigations that have ensnared Banks and other top Adams advisers, declined to comment.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
Phil Banks and Mayor Adams at City Hall. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
Banks, who hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing by any law enforcement agencies, didn’t return a request for comment.
Reached by phone, Benjamin Brafman, Banks’ lawyer, said he has “no idea” why Banks didn’t file his disclosure on time or why his name was removed from the policymaker list.
Speaking of the feds who raided Banks’ home, Brafman added: “I’m told continuously that he is not a target of their investigation.”
City government ethics expert Richard Briffault said he has never heard of a deputy mayor like Banks being removed from the policymaker list. “It seems weird, and it seems hard to justify,” said Briffault, who used to be the Conflicts of Interest Board’s chairman.
In addition to financial disclosure requirements, officials on the policymaker list are barred from soliciting campaign contributions on behalf of political candidates.
Federal investigators raided Banks’ Queens home on Sept. 4 and seized his electronics as part of a corruption probe that sources say is scrutinizing influence-peddling and kickbacks on city contracts. On the same day, the feds searched the homes of Schools Chancellor David Banks, Phil’s older brother, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, senior Adams public safety adviser Tim Pearson and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
All of those officials have since resigned; none have been charged in any proceedings.
Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News
Schools Chancellor David Banks embraces his partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, on Sept. 25, 2024. Both have since resigned. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)
It remains unclear who the targets might be of the corruption probes entangling Banks and the other ex-Adams aides. The probes are being led by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.
Those inquiries are separate from the investigation that resulted in Adams’ indictment on charges alleging he took bribes and illegal campaign cash from Turkish government operatives in exchange for political favors. Adams has pleaded not guilty and is supposed to stand trial in April.
Banks, an ex-NYPD chief with a controversial history who has known Adams for decades, held immense sway over the police department while serving as deputy mayor.
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