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Mayor Adams' lawyer joins board of Turkish ride-hailing app
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Samantha Max
Published Dec 25, 2024
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By
Samantha Max
Published Dec 25, 2024
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A Turkish transportation app that connects users with taxis, e-bikes and electric scooters has named the attorney representing Mayor Eric Adams in his federal corruption case to its board of directors.
The Istanbul-based Marti Technologies announced late last week that its board elected Alex Spiro as a director during its 2024 annual shareholder meeting.
In New York, Spiro is representing Adams in a federal case alleging that the mayor accepted bribes from Turkish nationals in exchange for pressuring FDNY officials to fast-track the opening of a skyscraper known as the Turkish House, which holds a new Turkish consulate.
Spiro did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday morning. In a press release, he said that he’s worked with “some of the greatest entrepreneurs and CEOs in the world,” but Marti’s CEO and his team “are among the best I’ve ever seen.”
“I am pleased to support them and the company as we reach scale and achieve profitability in 2025,” he added.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against Adams in September, accusing him of accepting more than $100,000 worth of flight upgrades on Turkish Airlines, as well as lavish accommodations during his frequent visits to Istanbul. In return, prosecutors say, Adams asked fire officials to allow the Turkish House to open before before it could pass a fire inspection, agreed not to make statements about the Armenian Genocide on a 2022 memorial day and appointed a Turkish Airlines manager to his transition team.
“You are a true friend of Turkey,” a Turkish official texted the then-Brooklyn Borough President after Adams allegedly told him the FDNY was drafting a letter to expedite the opening of the Turkish House, according to the indictment.
“Yes even more a true friend of yours. You are my brother,” Adams allegedly responded.
Earlier this week, Turkish-born businessman Erden Arkan agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in connection with the case against Adams. Prosecutors say Arkan — identified in Adams’ indictment as “Businessman-5” — illegally made campaign contributions under another name to get public matching funds, according to a letter the U.S. attorney’s office filed earlier this week.
Adams has denied any wrongdoing, and Spiro has pledged to fiercely defend his client. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Spiro’s election to Marti’s board.
Spiro is known for his aggressive legal defense and roster of high-profile clients, including Brooklyn rappers Jay-Z and Bobby Shmurda, former Knicks player Charles Oakley, actor Alec Baldwin and tech mogul Elon Musk.
“His experience with a broad range of clients across the fields of business and politics in the U.S., and, most notably, with leading global technology entrepreneurs, gives me confidence that he will contribute to our Company and mission,” Marti founder and CEO Oguz Alper Oktem said in a press release.
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new york city
Politics
eric adams
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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