NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Stone-faced authorities stepping up to a podium. A scrum of reporters jostling for a quote. Popping flashbulbs and pandemonium.
The spectacle played out across a public plaza from the federal courthouse where New York City Mayor Eric Adams was Friday morning 鈥� but it had nothing to do with the stunning indictment.
Instead, it was a far more familiar city occurrence: a film crew shooting an episode of 鈥淟aw & Order,鈥� one that happened to feature actors dressed as law enforcement officials briefing TV cameras and uncommonly attractive journalists.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just pure coincidence,鈥� said one Law & Order crew member, who鈥檇 already informed several curious passersby that the clamor had nothing to do with the against Adams. 鈥淧eople have been asking us all day if the mayor is here. He is not," said the crew member, who declined to give his name.
Still, the scene offered an uncanny simulacrum of the fast-moving corruption scandal that has created a political crisis, prompting the resignations of the real police commissioner and in recent weeks.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors against Adams, making him the city's first sitting mayor to be arrested since the 19th century.
鈥淐ause of all the craziness that鈥檚 been happening in New York, it鈥檚 an easy mistake to make,鈥� said Pat Quigley, a South Carolina resident visiting the city, as she took a photo of the film set.
Daniel Bhagat, 20, said he鈥檇 traveled to Manhattan from New Jersey in part to look at the nearby courthouse where Adams pleaded not guilty that morning 鈥� and was briefly thrilled to be so close to a potentially historic moment.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see the production equipment. I really thought it was Eric Adams,鈥� he said, letting out a sign after learning the truth. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say I was disappointed. I do love the show.鈥�
Like the long-running TV show, the federal inquiries around the Adams鈥� administration features its own ensemble cast.
Federal investigators have charged the mayor with accepting illegal campaign contributions and expensive overseas trips from a Turkish diplomatic official seeking to leverage his influence.
There are believed to be that involve the former police commissioner and his brother; a different brother of the deputy mayor and schools chancellor; and the mayor鈥檚 director of Asian Affairs. On Friday afternoon, one of the mayor鈥檚 closest advisers was met at the airport by both federal and state investigators, who seized her phone and served her a subpoena.
Following his arraignment, Adams stood silent as his attorney, Alex Spiro, told throngs of reporters that his client was innocent of wrongdoing. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 even a real case,鈥� Spiro said.
A few minutes later, on the other side of the bustling plaza, a passing man shouted his own assessment in the direction of the Law & Order set: 鈥淓ric Adams is going to jail!鈥�
Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press