Ray Martin, a staffer in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, was terminated on Thursday following allegations that he attempted to extort money from a Brooklyn bar owner by leveraging connections to former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s twin brother. The FBI inquiry into the mayor's inner circle is getting more intense as this episode plays out.
Martin worked as an operations manager for the city's community relations department. He was fired when Shamel Kelly, the proprietor of the "Juice and Moore Bar" in Coney Island, made extensive allegations in a WNBC article. Kelly said that Martin was attempting to mediate a settlement between her and the police by putting pressure on James Caban, the twin brother of the recently-resigned NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
Kelly, who operated the juice bar by day and served alcohol on the weekends, said that his company was under a lot of strain because of the NYPD's 60th Precinct's regular visits and noise complaints. Kelly said that Martin had come up to him and said that if he paid $2,500 to hire James Caban, the police would treat him well. Kelly turned down the offer, but he could back up his assertions with phone logs and text conversations from August 2023. According to these documents, Martin had urged him to get in touch with Caban.
Kelly, reflecting on the conversation, told NBC New York that he felt pressured by Martin’s proposal, saying, "I felt it was like I got an ultimatum. It’s like either you gonna get with this, or you gonna get shut down." Kelly ultimately shuttered his business in February, months before Martin’s termination.
City Hall responded swiftly to the allegations, asserting that they were unaware of Martin’s involvement until the news report surfaced. A statement from City Hall emphasized the ethical standards expected of all city employees, saying, “After receiving this inquiry, we immediately began an internal review and found that Ray Martin violated the terms of his employment. He was terminated for cause yesterday. We expect all city employees to act ethically and in the public interest.”
James Caban's lawyers, however, refuted any misconduct and said that, considering his prior employment with the police, his role as a consultant and go-between for the NYPD and private businesses was legitimate. In the statement, it was said that Caban had complied with all requests from law enforcement and that it was expected that the inquiry would exonerate him.
The allegations of extortion coincide with the intensifying FBI probe of Mayor Adams' administration. Surveillance into potential corruption within the mayor's closest circle led federal officials to raid the Caban brothers' houses and confiscate electronic devices. On Thursday, Edward Caban, the NYPD Commissioner, announced his resignation; he was not the subject of a formal inquiry.
Days of conjecture were preceded by this resignation, which was brought on by federal raids and the issuance of search warrants for many high-ranking Adams administration officials. Federal authorities also served warrants on First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, and Timothy Pearson, a mayoral adviser and former NYPD officer, in addition to the Caban brothers. Particularly banks have been the subject of ongoing government investigations about corruption.
For some months, there has been a growing federal investigation against Adams' administration. Agents searched the house of one of the mayor's top fundraisers in 2023 and confiscated electronics belonging to the mayor during an event in Manhattan.
Ray Martin worked in the Office of Media and Entertainment until taking on the position of operations coordinator in April 2023. His firing complicates the already complex issues surrounding Mayor Adams' inner circle even more, making it harder for the mayor to keep the public's trust.
Following Edward Caban's retirement, veteran FBI agent and former chief of the National Threat Center Tom Donlon was named NYPD Commissioner in an acting capacity. It is anticipated that Donlon, who formerly managed the Terrorism Watch List, will lead the department over the course of the investigations.