NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destroying evidence in a sweeping federal investigation that led to Mayor Eric Adams' indictment on charges he took bribes and illegal campaign cash from foreign interests.

Eric Adams, who once declared himself the “face of the new Democratic Party,” started his term as New York’s second Black mayor amid background chatter of how he could play a bigger role in national politics.

After news broke that City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges, according to two sources familiar with the matter, many of his political allies and adversaries seized the opportunity to call on him to step down from his position.

The allegations mark a stunning blow for a politician who rose from humble roots in Brooklyn to become only the second Black man to serve as New York’s mayor.

Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of law and order whose administration has been engulfed by corruption charges, faces five counts of taking bribes and committing fraud.

He is the first New York City mayor to face criminal charges while in office in more than 150 years. Adams has since rebuffed a chorus of calls that he resign before his four-year

The charges come as federal investigators have launched a multipronged probe into Eric Adams' administration and 2021 campaign.

A former aide to Eric Adams destroyed evidence and pushed witnesses to lie to law enforcement officers investigating an alleged illegal political donation scheme involving the New York City mayor’s campaign,

Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday from his job in Eric Adams' administration, was arrested Tuesday for obstructing the investigation into the mayor and his campaign.

The crisis enveloping New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration deepened as an aide was charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence and a former Fire Department official pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge.