At a Wednesday, Aug. 20 event, she allegedly bribed a journalist with a potato chip bag stuffed with cash.
A close advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams was suspended from his re-election campaign after she allegedly gave a journalist a potato chip bag stuffed with cash.
Winnie Greco allegedly gave Katie Honan, a journalist at The City, a potato chip bag stuffed with cash, on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at an event in Harlem, per the outlet and The New York Times.
Greco previously worked as the mayor's former director of Asian affairs at City Hall. She returned to Adams' side to volunteer for his second term campaign.
After the event, Greco and Honan walked to a nearby Whole Foods, where Greco allegedly handed her a bag of chips. Once they separated, Honan, who hoped she was receiving a note or tip, opened the bag to discover a red envelope with over $100 inside.
"I looked and I go, 'Oh my God, it's money,'" Honan recalled for NYT.
She then called Greco, who informed Honan she had left the area, and Honan was unable to return it to Greco.
The City then reported the incident to the NYC Department of Investigation. Federal prosecutors then contacted the newspaper's lawyers.
The outlet reached out to Greco about the incident, who then said she'd made "a mistake" and repeatedly apologized.
"I make 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."
Greco called the outlet and said, "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," Greco added. "I just wanted to have one good friend. It's nothing."
Her attorney, Steven Brill, acknowledged in a statement to the outlet that "this looks strange," but claimed Greco’s "intent was purely innocent."
"In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude," Brill said. "Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused."
"We are shocked by these reports," Adams's campaign spokesman, 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."
Greco's alleged recent actions follow the reports that the FBI searched her Bronx home in February 2024 due to her possible ties to Chinese government interference in the 2021 mayoral race. She later resigned from Adams' administration in October 2024. She began volunteering for Adams when he was elected Brooklyn borough president in 2013.
Her departure followed Adams' indictment on five criminal counts relating to his alleged ties with foreign businessmen and a Turkish official who sought to influence his decision-making.
Her alleged actions come days before Adams' associates and supporters will face corruption charges, per NYT.
Representatives for Greco, Adams, the NYC Department of Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information on Wednesday.