There has been another guilty plea related to straw donors and the mayor’s campaign.

Dwayne Montgomery, a former NYPD deputy inspector, pleaded guilty in Manhattan court Monday morning to funneling illegal campaign donations to Eric Adams' 2021 campaign through straw donors.

Those donors essentially donated to the Adams campaign and were reimbursed by Montgomery and others in violation of campaign finance laws.

What You Need To Know

  • Dwayne Montgomery has pleaded guilty to funneling thousands of dollars to Eric Adams' 2021 campaign
  • Montgomery will likely not face jail time
  • Prosecutors are instead recommending a small fine and community service
  • An investigation into straw donors and the mayor's 2021 campaign is ongoing

As part of his plea deal, the Manhattan district attorney's office is not recommending prison time. Prosecutors want Montgomery to pay $500 and complete 200 hours of community service.

The plea deal was part of a larger indictment brought last summer by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accusing six people and one company in the straw donor scheme.

Montgomery is the fourth guilty plea in the case.

But he is the only defendant known to have a relationship with Adams. They were colleagues when they were both working in the NYPD.

"[Montgomery] was an inspector in the police department," Adams said Monday at an unrelated press conference. "We came up through the ranks. He was a member of the guardians when I was a member of the guardians."

The mayor was asked about that relationship Monday.

"Listen, in life, people make decisions that they would like to regret, and I think a person who has lived a career like his as a law enforcement officer, it appears as though he made a decision he wanted to regret," Adams said. "He pled guilty and I am hoping he goes on with his life."

"I have not communicated with him since this incident happened," Adams added.

An investigation into straw donors and the mayor's 2021 campaign is ongoing. The mayor has not yet been implicated in any wrongdoing.

"The campaign has always and will always follow the law," Vito Pitta, the mayor's longtime campaign lawyer, said in a statement responding to Montgomery's plea deal. "We endeavor to ensure contributors know the rules — including training campaign staff on how to identify potentially problematic contributions, advising contributors about restrictions on contributions, requiring contributors to affirm in writing that their contributions are lawful, and scrutinizing all contributions received before accepting them."

"However, some people still violate the rules. The investigation revealed the campaign had nothing to do with the violation. When investigations are carried out, we will always cooperate with the justice system — as we did here," Pitta added.