Mayor Eric Adams’ top adviser bragged to investigators that the New York City Department of Correction “will take care of me,” court papers reveal — as the ex-aide stares down the barrel of a swath of corruption charges.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin is accused of trading favors with two Big Apple hoteliers in exchange for more than $100,000 in bribes — which prosecutors say funded a Porsche for her DJ son and other luxuries.
“I’m not afraid. I know what I did and didn’t do. This is wrong. I have God and Faith. I’ll tell the judge myself. I’m not guilty,” Lewis-Martin told three investigators according to a letter from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to her attorney, Arthur Aidala.
“Corrections will take care of me. I’ve been good to them,” Lewis-Martin allegedly added.
Bragg’s office said it plans to introduce evidence of Lewis-Martin’s statements at her trial, according to the Dec. 30 letter — which is one of four signed by Assistant District Attorney Guy Tardanico and sent to the attorneys repping those accused in the case.
Lewis-Martin also apologized while in custody to her co-defendants, son Glenn Martin II, hotelier Mayank Dwivedi and real estate investor Raizada Vaid, who are all named alongside the longtime Adams confidant in the staggering indictment.
“I’m sorry you’re both there because of me, because of who I am,” she told the trio, according to the letter.
Another letter details the moment Lewis-Martin was stopped at the airport by authorities in September and had her phone seized as she arrived home from vacation in Japan.
At the time, Lewis-Martin admitted that her exchange had become heated saying the interaction had “annoyed” her.
“So you’re the ones that have been listening to my phone. This is crazy. Who am I bribing? What is money laundering? Check my banks’ records,” she told investigators, according to new information about the exchange detailed in the letters.
Meanwhile, a letter sent to Martin II’s lawyer says that while at the DA’s office, Martin told his mother “callate la boca” in Spanish, which translates to “shut your mouth.”
But it remains unclear why he’d said that.
Bragg’s office also focused on comments allegedly made by Vaid during a search of his Long Island home in October.
During the search, the letter said Vaid told his wife that “this was about ‘the woman and the mayor’” before telling an investigator that “whenever you shake hands with a politician, it will cost you money.”
Vaid’s lawyer, Jonathan Sack, said that he “disputes” the alleged statements but declined to speak further, saying that he will challenge them later “at the appropriate time in court.”
Lewis-Martin surrendered to authorities in December, arriving at Manhattan Supreme Court wearing a leopard-print top and bold red lipstick along with her son. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in the four-count indictment.
Lewis-Martin abruptly resigned from City Hall ahead of the court appearance, and about a month before she was scheduled to quit.
Martin II, Vaid and Dwivedi all pleaded not guilty as well. All four were released without bail and are due back in court early next month.
Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer.