❓WHAT HAPPENED: Winnie Greco, a longtime ally and fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, was suspended from his re-election campaign after allegedly attempting to hand a journalist a cash-filled potato chip bag.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Winnie Greco, Mayor Eric Adams, journalist Katie Honan, and Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon at a campaign event in Harlem.
💬KEY QUOTE: “In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude… I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent,” said Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill.
🎯IMPACT: Greco has been suspended from all volunteer campaign activities.
Winnie Greco, a longtime ally and fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, has been suspended from his re-election campaign after being accused of attempting to hand a journalist a cash-stuffed potato chip bag. The incident, which Greco’s lawyer attributed to “the Chinese culture,” occurred Wednesday afternoon in Harlem during a campaign event.
According to The City—the local New York News outlet targeted in the scheme—Greco offered the cash hidden in a Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion potato chip bag to reporter Katie Honan. Initially, Honan believed the gesture to be a legitimate offer of a snack, but refused. Greco insisted, and upon discovering the cash, Honan contacted Greco to return it. “I can’t take this, when can I give it back to you,” Honan texted, receiving no response.
Greco later apologized, calling the cash offer “a mistake” and attributing it to cultural differences. “In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude,” her attorney, Steven Brill, explained. “I can see how this looks strange,” Brill said, adding: “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent.”
“Grecco [sic] holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all VOLUNTEER campaign-related activities,” Todd Shapiro, a spokesman for Adams’s campaign, stated. He also claimed that Mayor Adams had “no prior knowledge of this matter.”
Greco has been a close ally of Adams for over a decade, previously serving as the director of Asian affairs in his administration. She resigned in 2024 amid a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into suspect campaign donations, which included a raid on her home.
Richard Kim, editor-in-chief of The City, called the potato chip bag incident “deeply disturbing” and criticized Greco’s attempt to ingratiate herself with a journalist through such means.
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