Brooklyn power broker Frank Carone, the former chief of staff to ex-mayor Eric Adams, was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning on federal bribery charges.
The arrest took place at his home in Manhattan, the New York Daily News reported. The accusations against Carone were not immediately disclosed, but were expected to come to light with an indictment anticipated to be unsealed later in the day. There appeared to be a connection to a migrant shelter contract, according to The City Reporter.
Carone’s brother, Anthony, was among those to be arrested. Other arrested over the alleged bribery scheme include Long Island City hotel owner Yan Po Zhu and Zhu’s employee, Crystal Chen.
Carone’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily News.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn were reported in January to be scrutinizing Carone’s business dealings and his time inside City Hall as part of a long-running corruption inquiry. The probe had been active since at least early 2024 and a federal grand jury was impaneled the same month of the report.
Carone, a lawyer and prominent figure in Brooklyn Democratic circles, was one of Adams’ closest political confidants for more than a decade. He played a key role in the 2021 mayoral campaign and served as chief of staff during the mayor’s first year in office before leaving for the private sector.
After quitting City Hall in January 2023, Carone launched Oaktree Solutions, a consulting and lobbying firm that rapidly attracted clients across multiple industries. In May 2024, federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas to several of those clients after obtaining the firm’s bank records, according to people with knowledge of the inquiry. The subpoenaed clients spanned a range of businesses, including real estate.
Later that year, investigators appeared to focus more closely on real estate partnerships and other business ventures tied to Carone.
In a statement at the time of the report, Carone denied wrongdoing, attributing the investigation to political animus and resentment over his success.
“Anyone and everyone who actually knows me and has worked alongside me would say that I am conscientious and principled in how I comport myself and in all that I do,” Carone said.
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