A close adviser to New York City (NYC) Mayor Eric Adams was suspended late Wednesday after she gave a reporter a potato chip bag full of money during a campaign event earlier that day.
Katie Honan, a reporter for THE CITY, received the bag of money while attending one of Adams’ campaign events in Harlem.
Just give us tips https://t.co/yEXzgzj6U9
— katie honan (@katie_honan) August 21, 2025
During the event, Honan spotted adviser Winnie Greco twice. After the second spotting, Greco texted Honan and asked to meet across the street. The two subsequently walked to a Whole Foods together.
“While inside the store, Greco handed Honan the opened bag of chips with the top crumpled closed,” according to THE CITY. “Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them.”
Honan eventually accepted the bag, after which the two parted ways.
“Before entering a nearby subway station, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash, at least one $100 bill, and several $20 bills,” THE CITY notes.
Honan then contacted Greco to try to return the money, but Greco ignored the texts.
Contacted later in the day by THE CITY, Greco profusely apologized for having made “a mistake.”
“I made a mistake,” she said. “I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey.”
“Can we forget about this? I try to be a good person. Please. Please. Please don’t do in the news nothing about me. I just wanted to be her friend. I just wanted to have one good friend. It’s nothing,” she added.
BREAKING: Eric Adams adviser Winnie Greco has been suspended from his re-election campaign after giving a journalist cash stuffed in a potato chip bag.
She later apologized, calling it “a culture thing.” pic.twitter.com/rEPqmcyRld
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 21, 2025
In a statement to THE CITY, Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill, denied that there was anything nefarious about the bag of money.
“I can see how this looks strange,” he said. “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused.”
Greco was suspended not long after.
“We are shocked by these reports,” Adams’ campaign spokesperson, Todd Shapiro, said. “Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer campaign-related activities.”
Shapiro added that Adams has “always demanded the highest ethical and legal standards.”
Meanwhile, THE CITY Editor-in-Chief Richard Kim released a statement to NBC News calling Greco’s actions “deeply disturbing.”
“The fact that one of Mayor Adams’ closest, longtime advisors would attempt to ingratiate herself to any reporter, much less Katie Honan, with a cash gift is deeply disturbing and speaks to a rampant and blatant disregard for the role of a free and fair press,” he said. “The choice of sour cream and onion chips is also questionable.”
Greco previously served as Adams’ director of Asian affairs at City Hill and as one of his top fundraisers.
Last year, her “homes” were raided as part of an FBI investigation into possible CCP interference in NYC’s 2021 mayoral race.
Later in the year, she resigned from her City Hall position after Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges.
Spotted at @NYCMayor Eric Adams’s rally yesterday in Flushing: Winnie Greco, who resigned from his admin last year amid a probe of possible Chinese influence in the 2021 mayor’s race, & Dao Yin, charged with fraud over allegedly fake donations to his 2024 Assembly campaign pic.twitter.com/1JNQ8Aryj5
— Jay Root (@byjayroot) July 14, 2025
This wasn’t the first instance of Greco engaging in shady behavior.
“A businessperson [previously said] that Greco allegedly demanded $10,000 to her archway nonprofit as the cost of entry to a Chinese-themed event with Adams at Gracie mansion, for what was a free event,” THE CITY notes.
“Additionally, a campaign volunteer claimed that Greco promised to help him get a city job if he helped oversee renovations to her home in The Bronx,” the reporting continues.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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