Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams was criminally indicted on federal corruption and bribery charges a couple of weeks ago, and since then several senior officials from his administration, some of whom may have been involved in his alleged crimes, have resigned or been fired.

One of those former City Hall officials is Mohamed Bahi, who resigned on Monday and was arrested and hit with federal charges of his own on Tuesday, UPI reported.

He is alleged to have tampered with witnesses and destroyed evidence as part of an effort to obstruct a federal criminal investigation, which could result in his being sentenced to serve decades in prison if convicted.

Alleged witness tampering and destruction of evidence

According to a Justice Department press release, Bahi was arrested on Tuesday and charged with a single count each of witness tampering and destruction of records, both of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bahi is alleged to have helped organize a fundraiser event in which a businessman made illegal straw donations to Mayor Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign through four employees, then later advised the businessman and employees to lie about the donations after they were contacted by federal investigators in June.

Later, when Bahi's home was raided in July to execute a search warrant, he is alleged to have deleted the encrypted messaging app Signal from his cell phone just before it was seized by the FBI.

"As alleged, Mohamed Bahi obstructed a federal criminal investigation by instructing witnesses to lie and then destroying evidence," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. "The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee. Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering."

"Mohamed Bahi, a former senior New York City Hall official, allegedly interfered with an active investigation by ordering third parties to lie to federal agents and deleting potentially incriminating correspondence from his personal electronic devices," FBI Assistant Director James Dennehy said. "These alleged actions were a deceitful attempt to conceal unlawful activity and create unnecessary obstacles for those working to uncover the truth. The FBI will continue to apprehend all individuals, regardless of their position, for obstruction of federal investigations."

Made first court appearance

According to the New York Post, the unnamed "businessman" in Bahi's indictment has been independently identified as Uzbek-American Tolib Mansurov, a construction contractor who allegedly donated $10,000 to Mayor Adams' 2021 campaign -- the maximum $2,000 for himself plus another $8,000 funneled through four employees who served as illegal straw donors.

After Mansurov was raided by the FBI in June, Bahi is alleged to have met with him and the employees and instructed them to lie to and not cooperate with federal authorities about the illicit donations. He is then alleged to have deleted the encrypted Signal app he used on his cell phone right before investigators seized it about a month later.

Bahi, prior to volunteering for Adams' campaign and then joining City Hall as the mayor's senior liaison to the Muslim community, founded and operated a charity group known as Muslims Giving Back, which ostensibly supported the community with donated goods but also sued the NYPD to halt its practice of surveilling Islamic mosques and community centers in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He was arraigned before a federal magistrate judge on Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom and was ordered to turn over his passport and not to speak with any witnesses or "co-conspirators" after a $250,000 bond was set for his release.

More charges could be coming for Adams and his associates

WNBC reported that Bahi is the first individual other than Mayor Adams to be charged as part of a federal investigation into alleged illegal campaign contributions, corruption, and bribery involving favors provided for foreign nationals in exchange for various perks and illicit donations to the campaign.

A lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten, revealed last week that federal authorities are engaged in "several related investigations" that are "likely" to involve additional criminal charges against Adams and other defendants.