Adams Campaign Aide Suspended After Giving Reporter Cash In Potato Chip Bag

NEW YORK CITY — A campaign aide to Mayor Eric Adams has been suspended from his reelection campaign after she reportedly handed a reporter a bag of potato chips filled with cash on Wednesday, according to a report.

Winnie Greco, Adams’ former director of Asian affairs, allegedly gave the bag to Katie Honan, a reporter for THE CITY, after the opening of the mayor's campaign office in Harlem.

Greco met with Honan at a Whole Foods nearby, where she handed the bag to the reporter.

Honan told PIX11 News in an interview that she told Greco at least three times that she did not want the bag of potato chips.

THE CITY reporter discovered an envelope filled with cash inside the bag and initially tried to return it to Greco before turning it over to the Department of Investigation.

Greco apologized to Honan and THE CITY, claiming that the cash was meant as a cultural gesture and not a bribe.

“This was no payoff. This was no bag of cash in a dark alley. Any insinuation that this gift had a nefarious intent to influence this reporter or her coverage is misinterpreted and ridiculous,” Greco’s attorney, Steven Brill, said in a statement to reporters.

“Once Winnie was informed by this reporter that she could not accept it, Winnie apologized and asked for the traditional gift to be returned,” Brill added.

"If one understood Winnie’s generosity, and her sincere dedication to the Chinese culture, it would make more sense and have less of a negative connotation.”

Todd Shapiro, a campaign spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, told PIX11 News that the mayor was shocked by the reported incident.