Mayor Adams coy on whether he warned ex-Buildings boss of gambling probe, says he won’t be ‘distracted’
Mayor Adams did not explicitly deny Monday he told ex-Buildings Department Commissioner Eric Ulrich last year to be careful about using cellphones for sensitive conversations months before it became known that Ulrich was under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. Adams instead said he felt like he was watching a mafia movie while reading an exclusive Daily News report from last week on his alleged warning to Ulrich.
“I was reading that article, I felt like it was a redo of ‘Goodfellas,’” Adams said at a City Hall press conference, a reference to Martin Scorsese’s classic 1990 mob flick.
“I have no knowledge of this investigation,” the mayor continued. “No, that’s the bottom line — no.”
But asked specifically by The News later if he told Ulrich to exercise caution while using phones, Adams demurred while flashing a wide grin: “You got my statement.”
The News reported Friday that Ulrich told investigators that Adams privately urged him to “watch your back and watch your phones” in May 2022, according to two sources.
That exchange occurred months before investigators with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office seized Ulrich’s cellphone and interviewed him as part of a probe into mafia-linked illegal gambling. The probe links illegal gambling to a pizzeria in Ozone Park that’s co-owned by a former aide of Ulrich during his years as a member of the City Council.
According to the two sources familiar with the matter, Ulrich said in that November 2022 interview with prosecutors that he interpreted Adams’ comment as sign they were investigating him.
Ulrich resigned his Buildings Department job shortly after the interview and a grand jury is actively weighing whether to file criminal charges against him as part of the probe, which has focused on alleged ties between Ulrich, a self-admitted prolific gambler, and organized crime affiliates. The probe is also believed to focus on allegations that Ulrich received financial favors from a developer with business before the Department of Buildings, according to sources.
On Monday, the mayor pointed to a statement issued last Friday by Fabien Levy, his press secretary, that said “the mayor has not received any requests from the Manhattan DA surrounding this matter and has never spoken to Mr. Ulrich about this investigation, either before or after the matter became public.”
Levy’s statement did not explicitly address the allegation that Adams urged Ulrich to be careful about how he was using his cellphones.
Adams tapped Ulrich, a Republican who raised thousands of dollars for his 2021 campaign, as his buildings commissioner in spring 2022.
Though he avoided specifics about his purported private conversations with Ulrich, Adams vowed at Monday’s press conference to not be “distracted” by news reports.
“You can be distracted, and you can be busy answering the same questions over and over again. I have an entire city to run during the most challenging times. I’m not going to be distracted,” he said. “Stay focused, no distractions and grind, and I’m not going to be distracted. I got to navigate this wonderful out of the challenges we’re facing. And if y’all want to acknowledge it or not: I’m doing a damn good job.”
