A top adviser to former Mayor Eric Adams used his multimillion-dollar Florida estate to back a seven-figure bond after his arrest in a wide-ranging fraud case, as newly filed court documents detailed the lengths prosecutors say the alleged conspirators took to avoid scrutiny.
Frank Carone, 56, pledged his $4.7 million beach house in Boca Raton to secure a $2 million bond following his Wednesday arrest. He was released under strict conditions that limit his travel to New York and Florida.
Carone, who served as Adams’ chief of staff in 2022, is accused of accepting roughly $120,000 in bribes from a Queens hotel operator whom prosecutors say he helped land a $6.825 million, one-year city contract to operate a migrant shelter.
His brother, 54-year-old Anthony Carone, was also arrested for allegedly routing payments from the hotelier, Yan Po “Andy” Zhu, through his law firm under what prosecutors described as “sham retainer agreements,” according to an indictment filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
All defendants in the case posted bail, including Zhu, 51, who was ordered to meet an $8 million bond. Zhu’s hotel business manager, 39-year-old Crystal Chen, was also arrested and charged.
Prosecutors allege Carone used his influence inside City Hall to help Zhu secure the lucrative shelter contract, despite the fact that Zhu’s Long Island City Microtel Inn had previously been rejected because it was considered too small and was located directly beside another shelter.
According to court filings, the deal gained traction after Zhu hosted the Carone brothers for multiple visits at his Nassau County mansion, where he allegedly “leveraged his burgeoning personal relationship with” them before the Microtel contract was ultimately awarded.
Prosecutors further claim Frank Carone then began receiving $10,000 monthly payments from an account tied to his brother’s law firm, matching the amount Zhu was allegedly paying Anthony Carone under the purported retainer arrangement.
That cash allegedly went to Carone’s credit card bills – which he doled out on dining, travel, memberships, fitness, clothing, groceries and other expenses.
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The alleged bribes ended in Sept. 2023 – and by Spring 2024 things began to unravel after a grand jury probe was underway into the alleged scheme.
Carone and his brother allegedly tried to cover their tracks by trying to pass them off as loans – even writing up a promissory note backdated to 2022, according to prosecutors.
By 2025 Zhu and Chen were being searched for evidence – and the pair allegedly resorted to apparently desperate measures to hide.
Zhu allegedly covered his face and waved his hands around when investigators tried to use his phone’s face-ID to unlock the device – while Chen allegedly acted as if she was happy to comply with a phone search, then pretended to forget her passcode.
“Instead of unlocking it, Chen took a long pause and stated that she could not remember her password,” prosecutors wrote. “Chen then began entering multiple incorrect passwords into the phone, placed the phone on a table, and stated that she was locked out of the phone.”
“After agents told Chen that, among other things, they believed that she was lying about not remembering her password, Chen unlocked her phone,” they added.
Both Carones, Zhu and Chen are charged with conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and subscribing to a false tax return. Each face up to 20 years behind bars.
Carone denied the charges, with his attorney Arthur Aidala calling the charges a “Frankenstein indictment” after a court appearance Wednesday.
“Mayor Adams and Frank Corona, and that administration fought to stop the influx of migrants. We forget so quickly what a crisis it truly was,” the attorney said. “Frank had nothing to do with who was getting these, these assignments to where the migrants were going to stay. He was just doing his job as the chief of staff.”
Carone himself dodged questions as he left the Brooklyn federal courthouse, but did offer one insight about his plans.
“I’m just hoping I have a nice dinner tonight,” he said.
