FBI Arrests Frank Carone, Ex-Adams Chief of Staff, in Bribery Probe. Former NYPD Officials Raided Separately.

What Happened

The FBI arrested Frank Carone on the morning of June 24, 2026, according to sources cited by the NY Post and Newsday. Carone's home was searched in an early-morning operation before he was taken into custody.

Carone, a prominent Brooklyn attorney, served as Adams' chief of staff during Adams' first year in office and was widely regarded as one of the mayor's most influential political operatives. He is scheduled to be arraigned on undisclosed charges Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn, according to Newsday.

Also arrested: Carone's brother Anthony Carone, also an attorney, and two individuals from Long Island, per sources who spoke to Newsday. The specific charges had not been publicly disclosed, with the indictment expected to be unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court later that day.

The NYPD Side of This

Separately, the NY Post reports that agents simultaneously hit the homes of three former high-ranking NYPD officials: former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, ex-Assistant Chief James McCarthy, and former top NYPD spokesperson Tarik Sheppard.

Those searches are connected to a separate probe into Maddrey's alleged misappropriation of funds, with the FBI called in to assist. Sources told the NY Post that investigators are examining potential bribery and official misconduct by former senior police brass. No charges against Maddrey, McCarthy, or Sheppard had been publicly announced, and it would be inaccurate to describe the raids as convictions or indictments.

The Adams Corruption Ecosystem

The Carone arrest lands in a sprawling pattern of federal scrutiny of the Adams administration. Adams' longtime adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin was previously indicted on corruption charges, according to Newsday. The New York Times reported in January 2026 that Carone himself was the subject of a federal corruption probe, so Wednesday's arrest did not come out of nowhere.

As for Adams: he was indicted in 2024 on charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and illegal campaign contributions, connected to what prosecutors alleged was a long-running scheme involving travel upgrades and illegal contributions from Turkish nationals. Adams denied the charges. The Department of Justice dropped those charges in 2025 in a move Newsday described as controversial.

Adams is no longer mayor as of the 2025 election cycle. Wednesday's arrests involve his former inner circle, not Adams himself.

The Fair Counter-Argument

Federal prosecutors in recent years have shown a pattern of aggressive pre-trial action against political figures that doesn't always result in convictions. The dropping of Adams' own charges raises legitimate questions about how these investigations are being conducted and by whom. The DOJ's reversal on Adams was notable enough that Newsday flagged it as controversial, and critics of the current investigative posture say the optics of raiding political figures without immediately unsealing charges deserves scrutiny.

That said, the Carone arrest, the simultaneous NYPD raids, and the pattern of prior indictments among Adams-era officials are sourced facts, not allegations manufactured by political opponents.

What Comes Next

The Carone indictment is expected to be unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court on June 24. That document will be the first public record of what, specifically, prosecutors allege Carone did and which city contract is at the center of the alleged bribery scheme. Until that filing is public, the charges remain undisclosed. The key question: whether Carone's alleged conduct implicates anyone currently in city government, or whether the case stays within the Adams-era circle.