NEW YORK — Winnie Greco, a senior City Hall adviser to Mayor Adams, reported in her latest financial disclosure that she has for decades owned a Bronx house that was raided by the FBI this year — raising questions why she didn’t list the same property on previous financial forms.
Greco owns the property in Pelham Bay with her husband, according to her 2023 financial disclosure, a copy of which was recently provided to the Daily News by the city Conflicts of Interest Board. If the building on Gillespie Ave. was her primary or secondary residence before 2023, she didn’t have to disclose it in two previous annual financial disclosures.
But if it wasn’t her primary or secondary residence, she would’ve by law had to list it on her 2021 and 2022 forms, neither of which contain any mention of the property.
Greco’s real estate holdings have become a more acute topic of interest lately, following an FBI raid in February as part of an investigation led by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. The Gillespie Ave. home was one of two properties owned by Greco that the feds raided; the second building they hit is on the same block.
The full scope of that investigation remains unclear and no one has been accused of any wrongdoing. According to sources, investigators are scrutinizing trips Greco and Adams took to China funded by the country’s Communist Party. Greco has worked for groups that receive funding from China’s government and used to run a company operating on its behalf in New York.
The issue of Chinese influence was a major factor in this month’s arrest of Linda Sun, a former top aide to Gov. Hochul and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was charged by Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace with acting as a Chinese government agent by, among other things, blocking the two governors from meeting with Taiwanese officials and filtering out criticism of Beijing from their prepared remarks. The raids at Greco’s homes are part of an investigation also led by Peace’s office.
A Peace spokesman declined to answer questions about the Greco probe, one of four federal corruption probes swirling around Adams’ administration.
For weeks, Greco hasn’t returned requests for comment on what the building on her 2023 form is being used for and why she didn’t report it in her previous disclosures. Asked about the matter, Adams spokeswoman Liz Garcia said: “Every employee is expected to accurately fill out their disclosure forms. If anyone needs to amend their form in some way, they have the opportunity to do so.”
A neighbor to Greco, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The News he has only seen her once at the Gillespie Ave. property.
In her 2023 financial disclosure, which she was required to file as a senior city official, Greco reported she has owned the Gillespie Ave. building with her husband since 1988. The form describes it as a “1 family” home worth upward of $250,000.
While senior city officials don’t need to report their primary or secondary residences, they do under local ethics law need to disclose properties that aren’t their homes, especially if they’re renting them out. Greco’s 2023 form doesn’t disclose any rental income.
The Conflicts of Interest Board, which enforces city ethics law, doesn’t comment on individual officials’ disclosures outside of enforcement announcements. But speaking generally, Carolyn Miller, the board’s executive director, said city officials can face $10,000 fines and criminal prosecution if they “intentionally” fail to report assets.
The issue of Greco’s finances was highlighted this week in a report by The City that noted the three annual financial disclosures she has filed since becoming a city official have not included any reported income, debts, gifts or participation in nonprofits besides her City Hall salary. That’s in spite of the fact that her first form covered 2021, when she wasn’t yet a City Hall employee.
Greco, who has worked as Adams’ liaison to local Asian communities since his days as Brooklyn borough president, went on paid sick leave after February’s raids. She has since returned to work and received a raise.
On the same day the feds searched Greco’s homes, they also raided New World Mall in Queens, where Greco co-hosted several fundraisers for Adams’ 2021 campaign that drew donations from workers who claim they were illegally reimbursed for their contributions, The City reported this year.
The Greco inquiries continue as the Adams’ campaign remains under a separate investigation led by Manhattan federal prosecutors over allegations Turkey’s government funneled illegal donations into campaign coffers. Manhattan feds are also pursuing two different investigations looking at questions of influence-peddling, unregistered lobbying and kickbacks on city contracts that resulted in some of Adams’ other top aides, including recently resigned NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, getting their homes raided and electronics seized.
The mayor hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing.
