THINGS NEVER REALLY CHANGE: Mayor-Elect Eric Adams defends potential selection of scandal-scarred ex-cop

NY DAILY NEWS: Mayor Elect Eric Adams affirmed he’s still considering Philip Banks, a former NYPD chief of department, for a deputy mayor of public safety role — even though federal prosecutors in 2014 said in court that Banks was involved in a complicated public corruption scheme that resulted in prison time for several city officials.

“I believe it’s imperative that we look at this amazing system of justice that we have — like it or not, you know, I spent my life following this system of justice: A person is innocent until proven guilty. That is what I live by,” Adams told reporters about Banks.

Banks abruptly resigned from his top NYPD post in November 2014.

Years later, the feds revealed that Banks, before his resignation, had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained income from Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg — a couple of crooked businessmen who’ve since been criminally convicted of bribing top NYPD and city officials.

Though Banks was never formally charged with a crime, the feds named him an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the scheme. The probe resulted in prison time for former jails union boss Norman Seabrook and several NYPD officials....

https://news.yahoo.com/mayor-elect-adams-taps-city-230200905.html