Winnie Greco, former New York mayor and liaison to the Asian American community, has resigned

A longtime aide to embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams has stepped down.

Winnie Greco, director of the city’s Asian Affairs, resigned Monday after working closely with Adams for more than a decade as a liaison between him, in his various capacities, and the Asian American community. Her resignation comes after Greco and several other Adams employees were raided by the FBI earlier this year.

“Both Winnie Greco and Mohamed Bahi submitted their resignations today. We thank them for their service to the city,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement to NBC New York, also referring to Bahi, another aide who served in the mayor’s Community Affairs Unit.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Tuesday charged Bahi, a former New York City Hall official, in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged straw donations and the 2021 campaign to elect Adams, court documents show.

Greco’s two Bronx properties were raided by FBI agents in late February. Agents also searched her office in Flushing, Queens, at the New World Mall as part of the investigation. The mayor’s office said Greco suffered a “medical episode” during the ordeal that prompted federal authorities to request an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Greco was placed on leave during the investigation but returned to work in May.

Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill, told NBC News in an email that after her property was searched and devices seized, he “didn’t hear or hear anything.” Her decision to resign was made ‘of her own accord’.

“It is a sad end to her admirable career as a public servant, where she has dedicated the past thirty years to helping New York’s Asian community in particular,” Brill said in a statement.

Greco has been the conduit between the mayor and Chinese American communities in particular in recent years, appearing in support of Adams at local community events in Flushing and other enclaves. But Greco has been associated with Adams since his time as Brooklyn Borough president, even accompanying him on trips to China. And when Adams was sworn in as mayor, she was one of a few officials to appear behind him on the stage in Times Square. Greco, who previously ran a food export company, was given a special assistant role under the Adams administration, earning $100,000 a year.

Greco’s dismissal comes after Adams was charged with bribery and bank fraud at the end of September. Adams received $100,000 worth of free airline tickets and luxury hotel stays from wealthy Turkish nationals and made millions in illegal campaign contributions in exchange for favors for his foreign benefactors, according to a 57-page federal indictment.

Greco is one of several top aides who have become embroiled in controversies that coincided with the Adams investigation. However, it is unclear whether the raid on Greco’s properties was related to Adam’s dealings with foreign officials.

According to the complaint, Bahi faces a single count of witness tampering and one count of destruction of documents.

Rana Abbasova, another longtime aide to Adams who worked as director of protocol in the mayor’s Office of International Affairs, was fired Monday. The home of Abbasova, a contact person for the Turkish community, was raided by authorities last year. Lawyers for Abbasova declined NBC New York’s request for comment.