Even though he agreed to plead guilty in February, Mohamed Bahi, an ex-City Hall aide charged with funneling illegal straw donations to Mayor Adams’ campaign, has for months held off on formally owning up to any crimes as his lawyer remains in talks with federal prosecutors “regarding the resolution” of his case, court filings show.
The fact that discussions are continuing points to the possibility new information may have surfaced complicating the terms of Bahi’s plea deal, ex-federal prosecutors told the Daily News. The holdup is coming to light after President Trump’s Justice Department last week secured a dismissal of Adams’ corruption indictment, which accused the mayor of participating in the same straw donor scheme Bahi was charged with helping orchestrate.
Bahi’s lawyer, Derek Adams, declined to comment Thursday on whether the snag in his client’s case is connected to the quashing of Adams’ indictment, a dismissal that has led many to believe the mayor is beholden to Trump’s political agenda. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, which indicted both Bahi and Adams, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s common for federal prosecutors to offer leniency for defendants in corruption investigations who agree to testify against others charged in the same probe. It’s unclear if Bahi made any agreement to testify against Adams at his trial.
But Duncan Levin, a white collar criminal defense attorney who used to be a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, noted any such agreement would now be moot, given the dismissal of Adams’ indictment.
Levine also said the delay in Bahi’s case likely stems from his lawyer questioning the idea that the Southern District would end Adams’ indictment but not his client’s.
“That’s what I would say: You’re going to corruptly dismiss the charge against the mayor but not against my client? There’s something very unfair about this whole situation,” Levin said.
“It’s totally unthoughtful for DOJ to dismiss charges against Adams and not consider the co-defendants, because it results in a perverse outcome where justice is flipped on its head and lower-level defendants can face jail time while the supposed ring leader goes free.”
Prosecutors first revealed Feb. 7 that Bahi would plead guilty to a conspiracy count in connection with his role in pumping illegal straw donations into Adams’ 2021 campaign coffers on behalf of a politically-connected Brooklyn developer, who in turn allegedly got help from the mayor with a building permit issue. The prosecutors wrote at the time Bahi, who used to be Adams’ Muslim community liaison at City Hall, had entered into a written plea agreement.
A few days later, on Feb. 13, Trump Justice Department appointees first moved to drop Adams’ indictment, which accused him of taking bribes and illegal campaign cash, mostly from Turkish government officials, in exchange for political favors. Adams has said he did nothing wrong and denies a quid pro quo with Trump’s administration.
Since Feb. 13, Bahi’s attorney and Southern District prosecutors have entered into three separate agreements to waive the Speedy Trial Act — which requires a case to move to a preliminary hearing within 21 days — so they can continue “discussions” about his plea, filings show.
This Monday, they submitted the latest extension, freezing Bahi’s case through May 9 in hopes they can “reach a resolution of this matter,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman wrote in the new filing.
“As noted in certain of the Government’s prior requests, the defendant previously entered into a written plea agreement with the Government. However, defense counsel Derek Adams, Esq., and the Government are continuing to have discussions regarding the resolution of this case,” Sobelman wrote.
The only other person charged as part of the years-long probe that produced Adams’ indictment was Erden Arkan, a real estate developer who pleaded guilty in January to steering illegal straw donations to Adams on behalf of Turkey’s government.
Unlike Bahi, Arkan’s plea was formalized in that a judge accepted it at a hearing. The judge has scheduled Arkan’s sentencing for August, months after the April 21 trial Adams was supposed to face in Manhattan Federal Court.
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