Mayor Eric Adams has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid legal fees battling his historic federal indictment — as donations to his legal defense fund have all but dried up.
Hizzoner’s trust raised just $2,200 from just two donors over the last three months, according to a disclosure report filed late Wednesday.
At the same time, Adams racked up more $866,000 in expenses, the majority of them attorney fees to Wilmer Cutler and Vito Pitta, who manage the trust.
The fund also reported an advance retainer payment of nearly $200,000 to Quinn Emanuel, the law firm of celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, who is leading Adams’ defense against the bribery and corruption charges.
The fund is now more than $735,000 in debt, according to the final latest quarterly report for 2024 — which comes as the mayor’s lawyers prep for his trial in April, which is expected to come with a ballooning price tag.
The defense fund was created in late 2023 following the federal raids targeting Adams’ top fundraiser Briana Suggs and agents seizing the mayor’s phones in connection to a probe into his 2021 campaign for Gracie Mansion.
It collected $1.8 million from nearly 600 donations before Manhattan federal prosecutors unveiled the 5-count indictment against Adams in September, charging him with accepting luxury travel as bribes in exchange for doing political favors for foreign governments.
Adams has pleaded not guilty and has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.
Since the indictment was unsealed, the defense fund only managed to pull in $23,000 from eight donations.
The fund can accept up to $5,000 per donor, and payments are required to be reported to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.
One of the only two donors since mid-October was businessman Tzvi Odzer, who gave $2,000 to the fund.
He was fined more than two decades ago for improper donations to then-Rep. Anthony Weiner’s campaign. In early 2021, President Trump pardoned Odzer, who had been convicted of conspiracy and bank fraud, according to news reports at the time.
Calls to Pitta were not immediately returned.
Sources close to Adams were unfazed by the debt racked up by the defense fund, saying the lawyers would continue working despite any outstanding tab.
City defense funds can also continue to raise money at any time, the sources added.
The trust filed its report at the same time as campaign finance disclosures were released — showing Adams has raised nearly $4.4 million for his reelection bid, with a $250,000 haul in the final period of 2024.
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