A former top aide to Mayor Eric Adams — and current adviser to his re-election campaign — handed a Big Apple reporter a potato chip bag stuffed with cash Wednesday, according to a report and sources.
Winnie Greco gave the bag to Katie Honan, a reporter at The City, just steps away from Hizonner’s new campaign office in Harlem, The Post confirmed.
Neither Adams nor his re-election campaign are implicated in the incident.
Greco, 62, ran into Honan outside the Harlem campaign office, and the reporter later received a text asking her to meet across the street at a nearby TD Bank, according to the report.
Honan met Greco at the bank, then was brought to a nearby Whole Foods, where Greco handed her a crumpled bag of Herr’s sour cream and onion rippled potato chips.
Thinking she was being offered a snack, Honan told Greco more than once that she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted, according to the report.
After the two parted ways, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope containing at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills, The City reported.
The outlet referred to the exchange as a “failed payoff,” but Greco claimed that she “accidentally” handed the reporter the cash, according to sources.
In comments to The City on Wednesday evening, Greco apologized for the supposed mix-up.
“I make a mistake,” she said. “I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey,” Greco told The City.
After an initial interview with the outlet, Greco called back with an attorney present, the report stated.
“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 said, adding, “I just wanted to have one good friend. It’s nothing,” she told the outlet.
Attorney Steven Brill further claimed that Greco was “purely innocent” and chalked the incident up to a misunderstanding based on cultural differences.
“I can see how this looks strange,” Brill told The City. “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude.”
“Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion that may have caused,” Brill concluded.
Greco’s volunteer status with the mayor’s re-election bid was immediately suspended, the campaign told The Post.
“We are shocked by these reports. Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all VOLUNTEER campaign-related activities. Mayor Adams had no prior knowledge of this matter,” spokesperson Todd Shapiro said.
“He has always demanded the highest ethical and legal standards, and his sole focus remains on serving the people of New York City with integrity.
“We are shocked by these reports,” he added.
The City reported the incident to the Department of Investigation.
“DOI received allegations from The City and declines further comment,” agency spokesperson Diane Struzzi told the outlet.
Greco, a former Asian affairs adviser under Adams, resigned in October 2024, with speculation swirling that the one-time trusted aide could be indicted by the feds.
Her Bronx home was raided in February that year after she faced a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation over allegations that she improperly used her position to get perks.
Since the high-profile investigations, Greco had seemed to disappear from New York City for several months but became a constant presence on the campaign in recent weeks, The City reported.
The shocking chip-handoff revelation came just hours after The Post reported longtime Adams confidant Ingrid Lewis-Martin is expected to face even more corruption charges for allegedly accepting handouts in exchange for political favors.
The details on the incoming indictment were not immediately clear, but sources believe it is connected to the McGuinness Boulevard revamp in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
